Some Things Just Don't Work Out
by Fate's Silver Chain
Summary: Alex, thrown to the wolves once again, finds himself with a ceratin NCIS team as his world spirals from awful to hellish. Because the ceiling collapsed. (6)
1. Chapter 1

"Well what did you expect?"

McGee banged his head against the desk. "It's not my fault."

"What's up Probie?" DiNozzo asked as he walked in, seeing his two teammates stood behind his desk. Dropping his bag at his own, he walked over to see what the fuss was about.

Ziva shook her head, a slight smile on her face. "He wanted to see if it was true about the file that couldn't be hacked- an impossible file. The techies where wondering if anyone could break through. There was a bullet about it before."

"Bulletin." McGee corrected, head flat against the desk.

"A bullet in what?"

DiNozzo shook his head. "So you had a go?"

"Well, yeah. But the thing is, it bounced me off half of Europe before frying my hard drive. Its dead! There was smoke coming out!"

"I thought it smelt a bit funny, was wondering if Gibbs had taken up smoking."

"And why would it be me, DiNozzo?" The man said appearing behind him to look at the group.

"Just thinking out loud Boss."

"Well don't. Grab your gear- we've got a case." He called, making his way over to the elevator. In a hurry, the three rushed over with their bags in hand. The silver haired man pushed the button for the garage, not looking at his team.

"And McGee?"

"Yeah Boss?"

"Sort out your computer."

* * *

><p>DiNozzo snapped the camera wildly, getting a few good ones of the crew in suprise. He chuckled as he took one of Ziva's butt as she leant to pick up the gun.<p>

He felt the harsh rap of a slap on the back of the head, and flinched. "Sorry Boss."

The man walked away from him, to kneel beside the body of a dead marine and the two ME's. "What have you got for me Duck?"

The warehouse was quiet, a dull throb of noise from the nearby road barely discernible. The older man with gray hair looked up with a sigh.

"No ID as of yet, beside the faded dog tags. The man was shot, three times in the back, and once in his arm, almost as if he was trying to escape someone. Time of death is anytime between yesterday and Tuesday- the weather hasn't helped him either."

"Alright Duck, you take the body back."

"Of course Jethero." He replied with a smile, gesturing to two men with a bag and a trolley.

Gibbs turned back to his team as they scoured the floor, looking for anything that could help find out who had killed the man.

"What have you got?"

DiNozzo straightened up sharply. "Not much boss. Foot treads of all different sizes, ashes, a little bit of blood from what looks like an old fist fight, but nothing that stands out. Only thing left behind was the gun by the looks of it."

Ziva walked over from the open doorway that led out into the dull grey outside. "There is only traffic out there- nothing very helpful."

"Any tire treads?"

"Few partials, but nothing too recent. I will see what Abby can get from them-"

There was a screeching of metal, and a dull ripping noise. The team looked at each other.

"What the-" DiNozzo tried, only to be cut off by a dull thump.

Ziva and Gibbs looked up as one, watching the ceiling as dust began to fall.

"Is the body gone?" Gibbs barked, not looking away.

"Er, I think so, I mean, yeah." McGee stumbled, looking away for a second. "Why? Whats the-"

"Start backing up McGee, you too DiNozzo."

As quickly as possible, the group retreated, getting others out of the high ceiling-ed warehouse as the noises became louder. The sound of creaking metal joined the mash, and for a second there was silence.

Then the roof collapsed, tearing down half of the back wall and sending up a shower of dust. The people on scene stared, watching as the dust settled, quietly aware of how close many of them had been to being crushed.

Ducky walked over to them. "Jethero! Is every one okay? What happ-"

There was a muttered curse and a cough from the rubble in front of them, scaring half of the group. Something shifted, pushing off a section of rubble before a figure stood up. He tried to brush himself off, before noticing that he was covered in a fine layer of dust all over, and shrugged absently.

With a sneeze, the figure turned, freezing at the sight of so many people before flashing them a smile, bright white amidst the grey.

"Any chance of getting a lift?"

* * *

><p>Alex stepped out of the rubble with a grimace when no one answered. His leg was bleeding sluggishly from the cut from when he had been fighting the gang hours ago, and showed little signs of stopping.<p>

He sighed and looked around, taking in the road across the expanse of grass, as well as the group of people standing in front of him. The majority were standing there, gawking openly at the sight of him.

A sliver haired man stepped forward to meet him, easily taking in the rugged appearance and ripped clothes.

"Are you okay kid?"

Alex shrugged, stretching, pulling in his american accent that he'd become so accustomed to over the weeks he had been there. "I've been better."

The man offered him a small smile, before gesturing to one of the cars sitting behind the yellow tape that many police agencies use.

"Why don't you grab a seat in the car over there, and we'll get some one to drive you home when we've asked you a few questions."

Alex cocked his head, following the man, aware of the others who were not far from him.

"You sure?" He gestured vaguely at himself. "I'm a bit dusty."

The man laughed and shrugged. "It's not my car."

Alex sighed and stretched as they reached the black sleek car, sitting out of place among the horde of official vehicles.

"Typical." He muttered to himself. Everyone in authority.

"Do you want to call anyone?" The man asked, pulling out his phone as he spoke.

Alex nodded as he was passed the moblie. With a huff, he punched in the long number he had committed to memory long ago. There was only one ring before the head of the CIA picked up.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey Joe."

"_Ah, Alex! I was wondering when I'd hear from you. I heard the mission was a success._"

"Well, yes, but that's not quite my problem."

"_Why, what's the matter? On that line of thought, where are you?_"

"I have no idea."

"_That's... useful._"

"All I know is that I'm currently with NCIS at a crime scene at an old warehouse."

"_NCIS? Why are you with them?_"

"Ceiling collapsed."

"_That makes no sense._"

"Of course not. Well anyway, I was ringing you to say that Cumberbach is alive. He wasn't at the warehouse when it exploded."

"_Damn. Do you know where he is?_"

"Not right now. He's still in America though."

"_How'd you know?_"

"He's the reason I was at the warehouse in the first place."

"_I'll see what I can sort out. We may still need you though._"

"I'm not going anywhere. What about these guys?"

"_I don't know- your the agent. If you get into any trouble, give me a ring. Otherwise, stick with them. You may find something your missing._"

"The only thing I'm missing is common sense. Not going to find that anytime soon."

Joe laughed down the other end of the phone. Alex hung up, muttering under his breath before turning back to see the silver haired man talking to an Israeli woman with dark hair. The two looked up at him, before the woman moved away silently.

Alex was struck with the knowledge that she was- or had been- a spy. Mossad most likely. He shuddered, remembering the time he had spent with Mossad- casually being tortured when he hadn't even been there more than a week, under the pretense that he was a mole. Not nearly enough time to infiltrate a secret service if you asked him.

The man smiled as Alex handed back his phone. "Is it okay if you come back with us? I know your parents are going to be worried, but we need to take your statement."

Alex shrugged. "Fine by me."

The man offered his hand out to him. "Gibbs."

"Nice to meet you. Name's Alex. Alex Rider."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Hey guy's! What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

The car was silent as Alex looked out the window, staring at the slow traffic as they neared the navy building. Gibbs hadn't said anything to him since they had gotten in the car.

Slowly, they pulled up at the gate, Gibbs flashing his badge, before being allowed in. Alex watched everything carefully, painfully aware that he now wasn't on his own territory. No matter how much he wished otherwise.

With a sigh, Alex got out of the car when they parked, letting the man lead the way through the doorway and into the lobby, looking around as Gibb's gave him a visitors pass. They headed over to the elevator, just as it arrived, slipping in easily with the crowd that worked there.

The two were silent, ignoring the looks the pair got in an official government building. When they arrived at the floor, Gibbs once again led the way round to a bullpen where he went over to a desk. Alex glanced around, taking in anything and everything there was to notice in no time at all.

Turning, he waited as the elevator arrived again, this time carrying three people, all of them who had been at the crime scene, carrying various files and boxes. The Israeli woman was among them.

Quietly, Gibbs stepped up behind him, smiling to him before gesturing for him to go with him.

Alex followed Gibbs and a baby-faced man across the room to another elevator before stepping in, careful not to knock the set of boxes that the man carried. The face looked round the stack, offering him a smile.

"Hi- I'm McGee."

"Alex." He waved his hand loosely. "I'd shake, but you seem a little busy."

He laughed, beaming as the doors opened and they parted ways.

"Nice to meet you Alex."

Gibbs shook his head, taking Alex down the corridor to a colder area, a dull grey replacing the orange colours that had taken up most of the space. There was a hiss as they neared and two doors slid open, allowing them into the small morgue.

An old man with little hair glanced up with a smile from the body lying on the table. "Jethero! I didn't expect to see you-"

"I need you to look over Alex for me." He cut off, turning to almost reveal Alex behind him.

"Alex? Who's- Jethero that's a child! Why have you brought a child down into autopsy?" The man berated, moving forward never-the-less to take in the sight of the dusty boy.

"He fell through the roof Ducky."

"The roof!" The man led them over to his desk before taking a small pen light from his desk and gesturing for the boy to sit. "Then you should have taken him to a hospital!"

"It wasn't that bad." The boy muttered, letting the doctor shine the light in his eyes.

"You fell through a roof! But, I have to agree. You seem fine. All you really need is a shower. If you feel dizzy or faint at any point however, tell Gibbs and we'll get you looked at."

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said, looking back over at the body. "Any ID on the vic yet?"

"No. I've sent samples up to Abby, but until then your going to have to wait." The man turned back round to the boy and smiled, holding out his hand. "I'm Donald Mallard- but you can call me Ducky."

"Alex." He replied, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

The man chuckled, nodding to him, as Gibbs began to leave. "One last thing Gibbs. Don't, ever, bring a child into autopsy. For all you knew I could have been pulling out his heart or cracking into his ribs. Do you not think that's a little inappropriate? Never mind mentally scarring!"

"Okay Duck- I'll remember."

The doors slid shut behind them as they made their way back to the elevator. Gibbs looked him over once, before shrugging and smiling at him. "I suppose you do need a shower."

Alex laughed, looking over himself. "I guess so."

Gibbs smiled as the elevator arrived. "I'll find you some spare things to get changed into."

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>Alex sighed as the water ran down his back, surprisingly harsh against the sensitive skin that was his back. He felt the bruises and cuts complain as the shower hit, washing away the dried blood and dust that accumulated in the last couple of days.<p>

With a roll of his shoulder, Alex stopped the shower, allowing the silence to fall over the small changing room he had been taken to.

Quickly, he dried himself and slipped into the clothes Gibbs had given him. They were baggy, hanging on him and doing nothing for his extremely thin figure that came with not having eaten properly in a while.

Alex slid the pen drive into the pockets of the black combats before stepping out of the shower cubicle. On the benches, sat a tall, dark haired man who was flicking through a phone with a childish grin on his face, unaware of Alex. The teenager sighed mentally, before walking over to him and watching him over his shoulder.

There, on the screen, was a red Ferrari, slowly spinning as the man gazed at it and muttered facts under his breath. Alex coughed quietly, startling the man.

"What the heck?" He jumped, standing up sharply. "When did you get there?"

"Somewhere around the 4-wheel double wishbone independent suspension."

"Wow. You're good." He looked over him appraisingly. "You know your cars?"

Alex shrugged. "Well enough to tell you looking at the GTB instead of the GTS."

The man stuck out his hand with a huge grin on his face. "Tony DiNozzo."

"Alex."

The two shook, before Tony led the way out of the changing rooms and over to the bullpen, flashing McGee and the woman a smile.

"Let me introduce you to the team. This is Probie." He said leaning against McGee's desk. "Or McGeek. Or Elflord- take your pick."

He moved to lean against the woman's desk, before changing his mind and gesturing instead. "And that, there is Ziva David."

"Nice to meet you." Ziva nodded, giving him a small smile.

DiNozzo flashed the boy a grin, before moving to sit at his own desk. "And you've already met our terrible, our scary, our fearsome leader-"

"I hope your not talking about me DiNozzo." Gibbs said, striding around the corner and moving to his desk.

"Of course not Boss."

"Well then, what have you got?"

The three of them stood and slid over to the screen in the middle of the room, McGee picking up a clicker.

"Haven't got much Boss. Still waiting on Abby for ID."

"The scene was clean." Ziva picked up, letting McGee flick through the crime scene photo's, before coming to a stop on the photo of the dead man. "Almost look's professional."

"It is." Alex said, moving closer to the screen, eye's narrowed. Everyone turned to look at him. "The fact you found no shell casings and that the man was running, and tells me it was a long distance shot. Maybe 50 metres, give or take, since it looks to be a handgun."

"How do you know this?" Ziva asked, glaring slightly. The boy flashed her a smile.

"You were Mossad, you should notice the same things I do."

"What the-" DiNozzo tried, only to be cut off.

"And that's not all. I know this guy. His name's Walker. Ex-CIA, ex-Scorpia."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Dun dun dun... Ha ha! **


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs strode through the office, ignoring the startled call of the secretary, to walk straight into Vance's office. The man looked up at the intrusion, before sighing and leaning back in his chair.

"What is it Gibbs?"

"Our murder case is ex-CIA."

"CIA? How do you know? Does Abby have an ID?" He asked, seeing no file in Gibbs's hand.

"No." Gibbs turned to walk out. "Got the ID from the kid downstairs."

Vance stood and followed him out, heading down the stairs by his side. He could see a sweep of blonde hair from a desk, but not much else; the boy was surrounded by Gibbs team. He could hear their questions from where he was.

"How did you know it was a professional hit?" DiNozzo quizzed, leaning heavily on the desk behind him.

"How did you know I was ex-Mossad?" Ziva asked, at the same time.

Alex sighed and rubbed his forehead slowly, staying silent. McGee put his hand on Ziva's arm, as if to try to refrain her from mauling the boy.

The three straightened as Vance and Gibbs entered the bullpen. Alex just stayed as he was, watching them carefully.

"Boss, Director." DiNozzo said, respectfully, stepping backwards out of the way.

Gibbs stopped in front of the teenager, looking down at him slightly. "Are you going to explain how you know these things?"

"Maybe..." Alex drawled. "Maybe not."

Ziva growled, stalking up to him. "Answer the god damn question!"

"Whilst you're Jewish, some of us believe in God-"

"Don't be snarky kid." Vance stepped in, glaring at the kid. "We need to know how you know he's ex-CIA."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "That's all you were told? I mean, I get Gibbs and his team not knowing, but he didn't at least tell you?"

"Tell me what?" He snapped, looking to Gibbs.

"The ex-CIA is also ex-Scorpia."

Vance froze, mouth slightly agape as he watched the boy.

Alex shrugged at his reaction, ignoring the scathing looks he was given from Ziva. McGee looked up from his desk.

"I can't find anything on a group called Scorpia Boss."

"You wouldn't. You need something along the lines of-"

"Level 17 clearance..." Vance interrupted, watching the boy closely. "How do you know?"

Alex chuckled, flashing him a smile. "Oh I'm sure you've heard of me, Director Vance. Although, they are only rumours to the ears."

"That's impossible!" He muttered, ignorant of the rest of the room. "You can't be any older than 21."

"Well, that's a new one." Alex flashed him a grin. "Do you mind if I use your phone a minute?"

Vance shook his head dazedly, gesturing. Alex picked up the phone, quickly dialling the number before raising it to his ear.

"Hey Joe. No, I didn't blow anything up- not yet anyway."

There was a murmur down the other end, and Alex laughed.

"That was so not my fault, I didn't expect them to put the cases next to the furnace. I mean that's just stupid. They were asking for it... Fair enough. Anyway, can you fax over a couple of copies of the OSA?"

Alex paused, smiling at the looks three of the people gave him, and the cluelessness of the other two. "Nothing like that. Just it's one of yours I'm afraid. Walker. He's dead."

DiNozzo sidled up to McGee, whispering. "What's an OSA?"

"The Official Secrets Act." Ziva muttered. "He's bloody British."

"I don't see how that makes a difference." Alex said, hanging up and placing the phone back into its cradle lightly.

"You don't sound British." McGee pointed out.

"Well, I wouldn't want to stand out now, would I?" He replied, allowing his accent to slip back in.

"Bloody hell- he is British!" DiNozzo exclaimed. "Very James Bond."

The teenager shivered. "Don't even go there."

"Your MI6 aren't you." Gibbs said finally, watching the kid.

"Depends on my mood."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ziva snapped, stepping towards him. " You're no older than-"

"Ah." Alex cut off, as an agent walked in with two folders. He handed one to Gibbs who flicked it open loosely, and the other to Alex, a little sceptically. "I suggest anyone who is going to be working on this case signs one of them, and then meets me in a room with no technological or electrical devices. Except a laptop."

Gibbs sighed and shrugged. "Go get Abby and Ducky. We'll meet in one of the questioning rooms."

* * *

><p>"Wow. This is nicer than half of the interrogation rooms I've been in." Alex muttered, taking the only seat in the room. Gibbs leant against the wall beside the door, waiting for the rest of his team to come in.<p>

Vance was silent as he watched the boy, who in turn was silent, slowly flicking through the papers that he had been given by an agent.

After a few minutes, a black haired woman barged in, followed by Ducky. Alex took a minute to appraise them both out of the corner of his eye, still reading.

"Director, Gibbs. And you must be Alex." She said, bounding over to shake his hand. "I'm Abby."

Alex smiled and shook her hand, looking round the room to see everyone he had already met there. With a sigh, he flicked open the file and pulled out seven sheets and a fact sheet from the front. He paused, waiting for a minute as no one moved, before Vance stepped forward and signed the first sheet. One by one, each of the team filled in the OSA, which Alex collected back in before speaking.

"I'll start with the basics. My name is Alex Rider. I've been working with '6 for two years now. I've traveled all over the world, and I'm here because of a... miscommunication, I suppose, from when I was undercover."

"How old are you?" Gibbs asked, calmly watching him.

"23." He said without pause.

"I'm afraid my boy, you're no older than 20." Ducky said, walking forward, and gesturing. "Your arm is too short, and your jaw too loose."

"I'm under cover. My name whilst I'm here, is Brendon Johnson, 23, from California. I'm here because I transferred from the state school to a more... specialised school, where I was picked up for a drug run. But that's not the point." Alex lied, pointedly looking at each of them.

"Your dead marine is an ex-Scorpia operative, freelance for 6 months before vanishing. Three weeks ago, Walker reappeared with an organistation called VVV. Stands for Veni Vidi Vici."

"That's latin." Ducky muttered. "Spoken by the Julius Ceaser himself when he conquered-"

"But do you know what it means, Dr Mallad." Vance asked, walking round the room a little.

The man nodded. "'I came, I saw, I conquered.'"

"VVV is a criminal organisation that arose from the remains of Scorpia after it disbanded. It has the same contacts, and the same reputation- as long as the price has enough digits. It, however, has more control over the underworld, and more of their people run lower organisations. Even if they don't know it."

"How do you know about Scorpia?" Vance asked, leaning over the table towards him.

"Everyone in intelligence knows about Scorpia, Director Vance." Alex flashed him a smile. "And you've heard the rumours."

"Care to share, Director?" Gibbs put in, voice stern.

Vance shook his head. "Everyone, in a position of power, has heard the rumors. He's young, really young, by intelligence standards, incredibly dangerous, and incredibly useful. He's worked with so many secret services, and taken down so many criminal organisations- including Scorpia."

"Wow..." DiNozzo muttered. "So a mini James Bond."

"And all of it true." Alex smiled, standing up to take the laptop from McGee.

"So that's how you knew I worked with Mossad." Ziva stated, after mock hitting DiNozzo.

He shrugged. "Partially. You are too much Israeli to be anything else- no offence of course."

"How are we supposed to know if we can believe you?" Gibbs muttered, effectively silencing the room. "How do we know if we can trust you?"

Alex flashed him a grin. "Don't. Don't trust anything I say, or anything I do."

"Then what's the point in this?" He gestured, pausing for a minute. "Why are you telling us this?"

"Because I fell through a ceiling." Alex sighed and shrugged, still with a smile. "And because the further you dig, the more likely you are to run into me again."

The room was quiet, before Gibbs shook his head. "Answer this last question then kid. How old are you really?"

"16."

No one dared to breathe. Gibbs was thunderous, whilst Ziva just turned her face away, finally seeing what those eyes were hiding. Abby and Ducky stuttered, unsure, and McGee stood there in silence.

Vance shook his head. "That's wrong."

"There is a reason I'm known to be young, you know. Who would suspect? Young could be anything from 18 onwards to most agencies. I've been doing this for a couple of years now. No point bothering."

"Wow." DiNozzo muttered again, wiping his forehead.

"Not even Mossad take agents in before 21." Ziva murmured.

"I'm the only one- one of a kind. No agent younger than me. I mean, sure, the CIA tried, but... didn't quite work out, would be an understatement."

There was a knock on the door. Gibbs opened it, glaring at who was at the door. "What the hell do you want Fornell?"

"Your dead Marine." He replied, looking in the room, to see everyone. "Am I interrupting?"

"Why do you want him, Fornell? The FBI doesn't take interest in cases like this."

"Well it does now. Don't shoot the messenger." Fornell nodded towards Vance. "Director."

"Agent Fornell. May I ask why you want our dead marine and get an answer?"

The man grimaced. "Sorry- I'm under orders."

"It could have been worse." DiNozzo muttered to Ziva.

"How could it get worse than Fornell?"

"Could have been Kort."

"He doesn't want you to find out he was Scorpia." Alex muttered as he stood behind Ziva, making DiNozzo jump.

"Sheesh kid." He whispered, still watching Gibbs and Vance trying to find out why he wanted the body.

"Sorry."

"It's understandable. We didn't know about it till- well actually, we know nothing about Scorpia." Ziva gestured. "Only the Director and you, Alex."

The boy snorted softly. "That's why they lasted as long as they did."

Fornell cut off their conversation. "So why are you all in here?"

"We'll tell you if you tell us- why does the FBI want our dead marine?" Gibbs growled.

The man paused before sighing and walking in, closing the door behind him softly. "Fine. I'll tell you what I know."

Slowly he made his way to lean against the glass of the two way mirror. "The man you have in your morgue, you named as John Walker. Walker was an ex-CIA agent, and turned to a criminal organisation at the age of 25. We've been searching for him for the last 3 years."

"We already know that." DiNozzo whispered sarcastically. "Tell us something else."

"Did you hack in through our mainframe again McGee-"

"No." McGee frowned. "I did not."

Fornell copied the expression. "Then how do you know?"

"Well that," Gibb's stated, going back to leaning against the wall, "is why where here."

Fornell blinked slowly. "You were told?"

Gibbs nodded. "By the kid."

"A kid. Told you that Walker was ex-CIA."

DiNozzo shrugged, flashing him a grin. "We don't quite get it either. He says he's MI6."

"The kid is MI6? What the hell has MI6 got to do with us over here?"

"I fell through a ceiling. It was purely coincidental." Alex stated, making Fornell freeze.

"You?"

"The one and only. Sorry about your car."

Fornell shook his head and smiled. "It's okay, they upgraded it for my 'inconvenience'."

Alex snorted and grinned. "Nice to see you again Fornell." The two shook hands, startling everyone.

"Wow." DiNozzo stared. "This is just getting freaky. I'm going to go out on a limb and say you two know each other?"

Fornell shrugged. "He stole my car. And when I got it back, it was a burnt out shell with bullet holes and everything. It had to be fished out of the main state canal. I was surprised there wasn't a body in it."

"Not my fault." Alex muttered, loading up the computer on the table.

McGee shook his head. "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

Sighing, Fornell pulled up his sleeve to look at his watch. "Why are you here, Alex?"

"CIA. Following up a lead on Corbus's branch of assassinations. Apparently, the French embassy is having problems with their electricity."

"What's that got to do with anything?" DiNozzo asked, stepping forward.

Ziva shook her head. "They mean it was catty."

"Fishy." McGee corrected automatically.

"Whatever." She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "So shouldn't you be in the French embassy?"

"God no. Have you had to put up with their blabber? I swear to God, stick me in Scorpia again, at least that I can deal with. Anyway." Alex shook his head. "I sorted that one out 6 weeks ago now. Corbus is looking for a new leader."

"This is wrong." Ducky shook his head, looking over at the boy. "You shouldn't talk about death so lightly."

"Oh I don't- it wasn't me who killed him. It was his brother."

"Ah. Well in that case."

Abby slung an arm around Ducky with a smile. "I suppose that's something."

Alex typed loosely on the laptop, bringing up page after page.

"Walker was meeting someone."

"Do you know who?" Gibbs asked, coming to look over his shoulder at the pages. "Why is it in Japanese?"

"It's Chinese, and because Walker had spent the last few weeks in China before coming back over. I have a feeling it was to meet with Cumberbach, now I know he wasn't at the warehouse when it went up."

"Israk Cumberbach?" Fornell asked, moving round to look over his shoulder at the pages still flashing across his screen. "Can't you translate this?"

"No need, I can read it." Alex pulled up a picture and brought it up on to full screen, before flicking though a set of them. They were of a man, sitting with his back to a camera, eating in a restaurant in a small city in China with the dead marine.

"Thought you were better than that Walker." Alex muttered before flicking out, and high tailing his way across signals. McGee and Abby caught each other's eyes before moving up behind the teen.

"How are you doing that so fast?" Abby asked, eye's narrowed. "Your taking on separate firewalls and hardly having to do anything!"

"It's a mega core code. Because I'm bouncing halfway across the world, I'm hitting too many boundaries, but if you influx your data holder and turn off your flick drive you can follow a signal more or less anywhere across the world. It just let's you ride on the back of it. Plus, police security suck's anyway."

McGee and Abby's mouths hung on their faces. DiNozzo snorted.

"Wow. The kid's out geeked McGeek."

Alex looked over, still typing. "Baltimore has the worst protection ever, I don't know why you're indifferent."

"How do you know I worked for Baltimore?"

He sighed and turned back. "Your partner ran into Walker on the Lorrenzo Masatini case back when you where chasing Dini."

Ziva snorted as DiNozzo's jaw followed McGee's. "Your good kid. And it's in Chinese too."

Alex laughed and shook his head, finally stopping the hacking. "Walker entered the US 13 days ago, via Dulles Airport from China. He checked in at the Staybridge Hotel under the name of Jackson Mollay. He left the hotel each day around noon after room service had cleaned up his breakfast, and came back at varying times. He was booked in for two weeks, but disappeared Thursday and hasn't been seen since."

Gibbs nodded, taking that in. "What about Cumberbach?"

"Give me a couple of hours and I'll get on it. I haven't slept properly in a couple of weeks. And this guy's going to have more firewalls. I need to manually hunt him down."

"What about your code? Wouldn't that take care of most of it?" Abby asked, fingers tapping the desk excitedly.

"It would, but Cumberbach has a triple megaload firewall and pack, on each phone call he makes."

"Yowch!"

"Yeah." Alex rubbed his forehead. "It's going to take me a couple of hours, and the minute I get past the third multidimensional trigger code, he's going to be on to me. I am not going to battle him and his brother when I'm dead on my feet. They'd hand me my ass."

"His brother?" Gibbs asked, watching as he packed up the laptop and switched it off.

"The technological one. Don't ask- I don't want to know. Does anyone know anywhere I can sleep for a few hours?"

Ziva stepped forward. "You can sleep at my place. If your anything like I was, then you may actually be able to sleep there."

Alex smiled at her. "Thanks."

Gibbs sighed and shrugged, moving out of the room. "Take the rest of the day off then. Be back here early. I want to know everything we can about Cumberbach and our dead marine."

Everyone left, passing Gibbs in the hallway. Fornell and Vance stopped beside him.

"What do you think?" The Director asked, watching the teenager follow the group.

Gibbs shook his head. "It was better when we didn't know."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Wow! Twice in a week! It's bigger as well ;D Anyway, I'd like to know. Do you think K-Unit and Ben should be in this? It has been two years since they've seen each other...**

**I'll update again sometime this week :D**


	4. Chapter 4

The flat was cool after the sudden heat that had hit the afternoon. Ziva led the way up the driveway, holding open the door with a smile.

The two had been silent during the drive, not quite uncomfortable, but no where near pleasant. Neither knew what to say.

Alex was welcomed into a clean living room, personalised enough to tell what kind of person lived there, but not too much. The colours were neutral, and a few abstract but cheap paintings hung on the walls to add a more homely feeling.

Ziva headed to the kitchen, standing behind the bar with a small smile as he took a seat round the oppostie side.

"Hungry?" She asked, moving to one of the cupboards.

Alex shrugged. "I'll eat if you are."

Ziva paused. "I'm not eating now. I have to go out in a bit."

"You trust me in your house?" He questioned, eyebrow raised.

She shrugged, a small smiled playing at her lips again. "No. But then again, there is not much else i can do with you. You will probably go through my things whether i am here or not."

Alex laughed. "I'll leave your things alone. Don't worry about me."

Ziva placed the bread on the bar, tilting her head to one side. "You really are a spy, are you not?"

He was quiet for a second before shrugging. "I do what i do. There is not much else to it."

"How did you get involved?"

"My uncle died. How about you? Why did you leave Mossad?"

She tensed before answering. "Something went wrong... spectacularily wrong."

Alex smiled at her reassuringly. "There's no better way." He replied but did not push it any further.

The woman pulled her hair out of her ponytail, shaking it free with one hand whilst moving round the room.

"I'm going to grab a shower. Your bedroom is the one on the left, closest to the bathroom. I may be gone before you wake up, so help yourself to food."

"Thanks." Alex smiled, picking himself up and moving to the room. He was suprised to see an office of sorts, papers piled in folders in boxes around a desk. In the corner was a bed, pushed out of sight of the window, and Alex smiled at the idea of her not being able to sleep infront of it incase of an assassination- old habits die hard.

With a sigh, he pulled off his boots he had been given when he had returned to the SAS camp a few months ago. He hadn't had a chance to change them before he had left for his last mission, but neither did he mind.

Within minutes, Alex had drifted off into a light sleep, aware of everything nearby that could possibly disturb him.

* * *

><p>Ziva opened the front door quietly, unsure of whether the teen was still awake. The house was dark, which suggested nothing was wrong. Until she switched the light on.<p>

There on the couch, sat three men, bound and gagged, wide awake, and glaring hatefully at her.

And infront of them slept Alex, eyes closed and breathing deeply, hands behind his head in an imitation of peace.

Inside her head, Ziva snorted, heavily amused. Ignoring them, she made her way into the kitchen, dialling Gibbs on the way.

Fixing herself an orange juice, she turned back to look through to the living room as her boss picked up.

"Ziva."

"Gibbs. I'm afraid we have a... problem."

"What's the matter?" In the background she could here the thud of a tool being put down and the clink of a glass.

"Well, it seems someone has broken into my house."

"Are you okay? What about the kid?" There was a dull roar as a car started, and she knew he would be there within minutes.

"We are both fine. The men, however, are bound and sitting on my couch, glaring at me."

There was silence before he muttered a quick "Call McGee and DiNozzo over" and hung up.

With an tight expression, she did so, brushing off Tony's protest about it being the first time they had been let off work early in a while, and McGee's half illiterate babble from being awoken, with a quick 'Gibbs orders'.

When she'd finished, she moved back through, to see Alex opening the door to Gibbs. The man moved in, hand by his side, ready to pull out his firearm if the need be.

Alex sighed and strode over to the couch, ignoring the glares and jumped onto the chair, legs hanging over the arm.

"So what bring's you here Agent Gibbs?"

The man looked over the room before turning back to him. "It seem's you had a problem."

"Them?" Alex snorted. "They fell over the bloody mat on the way in. They weren't a problem."

He frowned, turning to Ziva. "What happened?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. I only just got in myself, to see them sitting on my sofa."

Alex rolled his eyes, aware of the small exclusion that came from working in a team. He turned his head slightly, looking at the door just seconds before it opened to emit the two other members of the team.

McGee yawned and rubbed his eyes, taking a few seconds longer to take in the men tied up on the couch.

"Wow." DiNozzo muttered. "Kinky."

"That is not what i expected." McGee said finally.

Tony ignored him and made his way round the couch. "You've outdone yourself again Zi-va."

The woman laughed, flashing him a grin. "It was not me. I have only just come home myself."

"Well then who's tying up random men and putting them on your sofa. I wonder if they come in women sizes-"

"It was the kid, DiNozzo." Gibbs stated, turning to see Alex watching them. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "They broke in, they failed, they are now sitting on Ziva's couch. Any questions?"

"It's a sofa." DiNozzo muttered, sitting on the ground heavily.

"Sue me- i'm British."

"Why were they here in the first place?" McGee stepped in, scrutinising the three of them.

Alex shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. I fell asleep."

"How could you fall asleep with three men who had just broken in, in the room?"

"Because they fell over the mat on the way in."

There was silence before DiNozzo snorted. "Smooth guy's. Real smooth."

"Did you check they were not armed?" Ziva asked, moving round the back of the the chair.

"Bottom drawer on the left in the kitchen."

She wandered over, pulling out the one he meant. "That is a lot of gun powder."

"Power, Ziva. Gun power." McGee corrected despite his tiredness.

"That's exactly the same!"

"Not really."

Gibbs pulled out three cartridges from the drawer and looked over to Alex. "You know how to handle a gun?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't everybody?"

DiNozzo snorted. "Point."

"Three semi automatic handguns, two bow knives."

"And a browning." Alex pulled the gun out of his waist band, and waved it round lightly.

Gibbs hand rested on his own, as DiNozzo and McGee reached for theirs.

"Put the gun down. I thought you knew how to handle a gun?" DiNozzo said, stock still as he watched him.

Alex sighed and tucked it back away, leaving no bulge to show where it was. "I do. The safety is on."

Ziva smiled and held her hand out for it. "No guns in the house."

"You have a gun."

"No unregistered guns then."

"It is registered. Just not to me." Alex muttered, giving it to her none the less.

Gibbs felt himself smile and turned away to hide it. "DiNozzo, McGee, put them in my car. We'll drop them off at NCIS."

"Sure thing boss."

The two looped an arm under one of the men each, pulling them from their seats and man handling them out the doorway. Gibbs took the last one, stopping at the door and calling over his shoulder.

"Get some sleep David. We'll need you for this paperwork."

Alex snorted on the couch, smiling his goodbyes to the man. Ziva turned to him the minute the door closed.

"How did you stop them?"

He smiled. "You have to be good at this game to last this long."

"Did they really fall over the mat?"

Alex laughed whole heartedly. "Yeah. They were all on the floor when i came out. I was laughing too hard to do anything at first."

Ziva chuckled. "But how come you fell back asleep? Even after tying them up."

He laughed. "Who said i was asleep? And who knew DiNozzo was so passionate about his off time."

"We don't get much of it. When death calls, it calls." She switched the light off in the living room. "Go get some sleep. We need to be at NCIS early tomorrow."

"Sure thing." He replied, making his own way to the room he was staying in.

Ziva watched him with a small smile. It was funny, having someone in the same house as her, that could move so quietly despite only having been there a couple of hours.

Exhaused, she dropped into bed, falling into an easy sleep, reminiscing of her own time with the intelligence community.

* * *

><p>Alex slipped out the house, closing the door behind him silently as the sun began to drape itself across the tops of the houses. There was little noise outside, just the faint echo of traffic from a still active road.<p>

Casually, Alex moved, gliding down the road, leaving the house behind with an acute alertness that argued with the fact it was only 4 in the morning.

Nobody saw him leave.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Ah! Mean cliffhanger! Ha ha :D Next chapter will be up by nest thursday- ooo! A day earlier! Ha ha, R&R anyway!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ziva awoke to the sound of the door closing, sitting up sharply. Her hand closed wound the grip of the gun under her pillow as she moved, feet swinging onto the floor.

There was silence as she stepped, familiar ground under her feet meaning she herself was inaudible.

Slowly, she pushed open her bedroom door,swinging herself into the hallway and gliding down it in a sweep. She paused at the corner, counting to ten before aiming her gun at the person standing behind the bar.

He snorted. "Morning to you too."

Ziva blinked, taking in the sight of the fully dressed teenager before her, letting her mind catch up. "Alex. What are you doing up? Do teenagers not normally sleep constantly?"

He made a non-commitable noise. "I don't think teenager applies to anything other than my age and my looks. And plus, shouldn't you be up by now anyway?"

Her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "Chara!" _Shit!_

"Akhsháv, akhsháv. Sáfa." _Now now, language._

"You speak hebrew?" She asked, astonished at the ease of which he spoke.

"That amongst many."

She sighed. He laughed, guesturing to the clock. "Shouldn't you get moving-"

"Chara!" She shouted again, darting out to return to her bedroom to get changed.

Alex chuckled, placing the milk in the fridge and returning to his cup of tea, listening to the thumps and half covered curses coming from behind the doorway. He took the bread from the cupboard where it had been stored and place two peices in the toaster.

With a crash, the bedroom door was thrown open, and Ziva skidded into the kitchen, holding a bag and her shoes in one hand. Alex took the toast as it popped, buttered it deftly and followed the woman out the house, promptly closing the forgotten door behind her.

In the car, Ziva calmed herself, letting a smooth facade slip over her emotions as Alex slid into next to her. It took her a minute to register the toast in front of her face.

Laughing, she thanked him as they pulled out the driveway and began toward NCIS. Ziva ate, one hand on the steering wheel, making her erratic driving even more deadly.

Suprisingly though, when Ziva turned to look at her passenger as they swerved dangerously close to some obstruction or other, he appeared strangely unaffected. This in itself caused Ziva to turn down a one way street- the wrong way.

Never before, had anyone acted so... indifferently to her driving. Even Gibbs tightened his grip on the handle above the window as she took corners.

Quicker than ever before, she pulled to a stop in front of the base. Alex climbed out of the car first, more composed than her, turning to watch her with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking herself of her thoughts, she joined him as they crossed the car park and to the doors. Gibbs didn't look up from his desk when they arrived, just taking a swig of his coffee and flicking through the file he had.

McGee smiled. "You ready to hack into that computer?"

Alex laughed. "As I'll ever be. You going to be watching?"

"You can count on it. We'll be in the basement if you need us." He called over his shoulder as they headed to Abby's lab.

Only then did Gibbs look up. "Any thing happen?"

Ziva shook her head. "No. I thought he'd left this morning, only to walk in and see him with the milk. He's strange. It looked as though he'd been up a while."

Gibbs looked back down, sending her to her own desk. Behind her, the elvator doors opened.

"Da, da da dahh!" DiNozzo called, walking into the bullpen. "DiNozzo is here."

"You're late." Gibbs stated, still reading.

"Yeah, well Boss, I er-"

"Even the kid managed to be up and ready in time."

DiNozzo slung his bag on his desk, shooting a look at Ziva. "Teenagers are supposed to be lazy. They're supposed to sleep all day. You didn't scare him, did you?"

She shrugged. "He was up before me. Woke me up. Which reminds me. He speaks hebrew."

"Hebrew and chinese- wow. The kid is good." He paused. "You pointed your gun at him, didn't you Ziva."

"That didn't cause him to speak hebrew. He just laughed at my gun."

Gibbs stood up from behind his desk, walking toward the elevator. "You two going to work today, because you're not payed for your idle chat."

"On it boss!" DiNozzo called after him. He turned back to her as the doors safely closed.

"He laughed at your gun?"

* * *

><p>"What have you got Abbs?" Gibbs called as he walked in, taking note of the scientist staring avidly over the shoulder of the teenager.<p>

"Gibbs!" She called, turning round to meet him. "How did you know?" She spun, leading him through to the seperated part of the lab, throwing herself onto a spinny chair. "The gun we found next to the body was the murder weapon. Bullets matched. No prints."

She clicked up a file, putting it on the screen and letting Gibbs lead over her to read. "We got a match in the file that Alex gave us. Our dead marine is one John Walker. Ex-CIA."

He pulled out a Caf-Pow and held it out. "Good job Abbs. What about the kid?"

"Alex?" She took a draught. "He seems fine, he's been working on Cumberbahc since he got down here, but been telling us what he's been doing. He's good, Gibbs, really good."

Gibbs turned and walked out, coming to a stop behind Alex. Text flicked over the screen, and Alex smiled at him. "What's up?"

He shrugged. "Just came down to see how you were doing."

Alex laughed, raising an eyebrow. "I only got down here three minutes ago. Sure, I've hacked through his first firewall and his mega-terrace, but you're going to have to give me a bit more time."

"No way!" Abby shreiked, circling him. "You got through his mega-terrace? I thought you weren't using your code!"

"I'm not. He has a glitch because of the overload in security details and the red line that flows to his hardcore is having more than enough trouble as it is. You just have to be careful or the whole system will collapse and wipe itself."

"There's a glitch like that?" McGee called, echoing Abby's amased tone.

Alex shrugged. "He refused to let his brother write the code, but he's not as good as his brother is."

Gibbs turned to walk away, when he was stopped by Alex's shout. "You might want to check the survaillance for Dunes Airport for who met Walker on the way in. Find him, and you'll find who sold him out. 3:32pm."

He nodded once over his shoulder, stepping into the elevator.

* * *

><p>"Alex, do you want to come for lunch?" Ziva called as she stepped into the lab, taking in Abby and McGee staring with adoration at the screen in front of them. Alex barely looked up.<p>

"Alex?" She tried again, moving to get a closer look. A black screen filled with flickering with green letters occasionally met her sight, and she turned to McGee expectantly. "What in the-"

"Shhhh!" He whispered, still watching.

Alex chuckled. "You can speak you know. I can multitask."

"Do you want to come for lunch then?" Ziva crossed her arms. "DiNozzo said he would buy."

"Oh! Oh!" Abby yelled, throwing her hand up. "Take me!"

Alex laughed, turning his head slightly to look toward Ziva with his eyes still focused on the screen. "Sorry, can't. If i stop now, this hack code will go straight into the database and wipe it. After stealing everything. By melting the circuit board. And then making it explode."

"Is that not a bit dramatic?" Ziva asked, leaning over as if the words meant anything to her. "What is up with the screen?"

"It's a flash wipe. He set it off when he figured out I'd hacked into his side core. Unfortunatly, until i get out of it, I'm hacking empty space. Shouldn't take me too much longer though. And that is when things get interesting."

"Interesting?" McGee called, leaning further forward. "This is interesting."

Alex snorted, and guestured to a file on the desk. "That file is everything i got from before i hit the first flash wipe. Sorry it's in-"

"This is not the first?" She shook her head, lifting the folder. "Never mind."

"Well, no. They're cheap tricks. So they're all over." The screen flickered white, before it settled back into recognisable and readable text.

"Anyway. The file. It's in russian, but between you and Gibbs, you'll be able to read it."

Ziva sighed, flicking open the file and begining to read. "Why russian?"

"Cumberbach is part russian. Spends a lot of time in his mansion not far from Yekaterinburg. Nice place, by the looks of things." He murmered.

"Why don't you go to lunch" McGee spoke up. "Me and Abby will take care of this for an hour for you."

"I've started now. No point. And i ate this morning before we left."

"We can take care of it. You need a break."

Alex sighed and smiled. "Which way would you go through the deep megacore? The firewall bridge or the subsector rider link."

Abby paused for a second, sharing a look with McGee. "Subsector."

"Agreed." McGee chimed in.

Alex grimaced. "I'll stay here thanks."

"What? Why?" Abby shreiked.

"If you go in through the subsector you'll hit a wipe screen, and then have to restart whilst the system re-sets itself and changes."

"How do you know that?" McGee asked, lounging backwards in one of the chairs.

"The code was written into the safety breacher i broke before."

"Fair enough." he muttered, stretching with his eye's closed.

Ziva shook her head. "You two want anything?"

"The usual please Ziva." McGee mumbled, half asleep. Abby smiled and nodded.

"Why don't you go with her Abby?" Alex looked away from the screen.

"I want to watch what your doing. I've never seen such a good hacker before."

Alex laughed and shrugged, smiling once at Ziva before turning back round to face the monitor. "I'll break through into his main frame and data space in a bit; if you need a break, go now."

Abby squealed and ran from the room, taking money to get a fresh Caf-Pow with her. McGee shook his head and said he'd go get a coffee.

Ziva slid into the seat just vacated. "You smile a lot for a spy."

"I can when it suits me you mean." He smiled at her again to prove a point. "This job has long since killed off any chance i have at a normal life. You know that as well as i do."

"Yes, but you seem a lot more... open. You show your emotions. Except your eyes."

He laughed, turning to her. "Eye's can lie. if you want them too as well."

She shook her head, watching him. "You are very mature."

"I grew up too fast you mean."

"That as well."

Silently, he typed away, listening to her beside him. She didn't speak, just watched as he typed, letting his fingers do the work.

"Why did you join MI6? How did you get involved?" She asked finally, quietly as if unsure that she wanted to know.

He paused. "There were, what some would call, extenuating circumstances."

"How old were you?"

He turned to her, eye's slighly colder than before, face more masked. "It does not matter. What's done is done."

She sighed and stood up, leaning against the desk. "I am sorry. For all that you have been through."

He laughed. "You should not apologise for that which you have no power over. Don't worry about it."

She stood there, a minute longer before Alex sighed. "Go. DiNozzo will be waiting for you- if he hasn't left already."

She growled. "He better hadn't have. I can not stand those cheesy, fatty, marbled mass of fat he calls dinner."

Alex laughed again as she walked away. "Marbled wasn't the word you were looking for."

* * *

><p>Alex stepped out as the elevator doors opened, walking to the bullpens. He sat down on a chair and waited, undisturbed by the looks he had recieved from DiNozzo.<p>

"You do know you are sitting in the Bosses chair, right?"

Alex shrugged, and blew a peice of hair from his eyes. "Figured as much."

DiNozzo shook his head. "He'll eat you."

"No he won't." McGee muttered from his desk, where he was lying.

"Okay, maybe not eat you. More like disembowl you and use you as ornemants on his boat."

Alex ignored him. "Why are you so tired?"

"Had to stay up all night and keep an eye on the guy's who broke into Ziva's house."

"Yowch. I guess that doesn't happen often then."

DiNozzo snorted. "No. Normally they're running to get away from Ziva."

"I am not that scary." She whispered from behind him, making him jump.

"Geeze, Ziva! What the hell was that for!"

"You need to pay better attention DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he strode in, coming to a stop infront of his desk, looking incredulity at Alex.

The teenager shrugged and handed him a thick file. "That's everything i could hack off his systems till he blew it up. A per usual."

"What do you mean 'a per usual'?" McGee called, disturbed at the idea of Abby's computer being destoryed. "And how did he blow up-"

"His own, McGee." Gibbs cut off, shooting him a look.

He blushed, and looked away at his own computer in attempt to do something useful.

Alex laughed. "He does it all the time. When someone hacks through his defences and accesses his things, there's a trigger which gives a person 3 minutes and then cuts off. He blows it up."

"That's a bit dramatic." DiNozzo muttered.

He shrugged. "And this time it's in english. I translated it before."

"You translated that much? How long did it take you?" DiNozzo asked. standing up and walking over to see the file.

"About half an hour."

"Wow."

"I put it through a translator, DiNozzo. I'd already read it as i hacked it." Alex laughed, moving out of the chair with a grin.

Ziva laughed at the dejected look Tony adorned on his face.

"Want to give me the gist?" Gibbs asked, taking a seat in his chair and opening the first page a little too slowly.

"And ruin the hours you could spend pouring through it? No chance. There's an overview at the back."

The three team members sighed, as Gibbs pulled out a sheet of paper. Alex sighed and looked at the clock on the wall.

"You going somewhere?" Ziva asked from beside him.

He smiled. "Meeting an old friend in half an hour. I should go."

Gibbs looked up at him carefully. Alex flashed him a reassuring smile.

"It's not that far away. And i promise to behave. How's that?"

Gibbs grunted and waved a hand at him, ignoring the small smile on the teenagers lips. Alex waved to the group and walked to the elevators.

Gibbs smiled and stood up, taking the entire file besides the overview with him as he went towards the directors office.

DiNozzo sat heavily into his chair. "Does anyone else have the feeling he would have left even if Gibbs had said no?"

Ziva laughed, whilst McGee shook his head. "Did he even take any money?"

"Alex?" Ziva flashed the two of them a smile from behind her coffee cup. "He does not need to- he knows how to pick pocket someone. Or he could rob a bank."

The two stared at her and she chuckled lightly. "After all. He is a spy."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Ha ha, okay, I'll be honest. I know nothing about computers. Sure that big button there switches it on, and you move that thing there to get stuff to happen, but that's about it. So no. You can't hack through a mega-terrace (if that even exists) due to an overload on some red line (bad One Piece reference) to a hardcore (that's probably wrong as well). So no. No hacking into MI6 to find out if Alex Rider actually exists. Sorry :D**

**R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6

Alex sipped at his drink calmly, taking the rest of the world in through his sunglasses. The cafe was quiet, overlooking a peaceful square off the centre of the city.

Across the way, a tall, lithe man walked over, hardly looking out of place in his smart pants and t-shirt. He took a seat opposite Alex silently, watching him take another sip of his pepsi.

"Alex." He offered, smiling lightly. "What have you called me out here for?"

Alex smiled. "You're off duty anyway. What difference does this meeting make?"

The man paused. "You have heard right?"

Alex laughed. "Yes. I have. You don't have to explain to me."

"Just meeting you is enough. The British are the ones who have been stealing our secrets."

"Of course they are." Alex grinned. "Same way the French are taking ours, and the Germans are taking theirs."

"But that's not the point, is it? Just get on with it Rider. I don't want to be here any longer than necessarily."

Alex sighed and took another sip. "I need a way into a compound, not far from Aspen Hill."

"Why do you want to go there?"

"Something happened that i need to tie up."

The man grunted quietly. "This have anything to do with Cumberbach?"

"And i thought you were off duty. But no. Cumberbach came about because he was a lead. A messy lead, but a lead none the less."

"What about this compound. Why do you need me?"

Alex laughed. "Well. I'm in a bit of a mess myself. Mixed up too tight with a bunch of Navy Cops, and they're being a bit too careful."

"You told them about you?" The man allowed shock on his face for the first time. "Why the hell would you do that?"

Alex shrugged. "They found Walker."

"Walker's dead?"

Alex nodded as a waiter walked over. The man ordered a wisky, paying for the drink where he was. It was brought to him a few minutes later.

"He was assassinated. I'm sure you've heard of his change in allegiance."

The man nodded and took a heavy draught of his drink. "Nasty peice of work by the sounds of things. Do you think they'll be bigger than it's mother organisation?"

He shrugged in reply, turning his head slightly to look out across the square. "It could be . Depends if any one can get a hold on it quickly."

"But what does this have to do with me."

"I need to get into that compound. I can't hack into it's security settings too much from the Navy base without setting off too many alarms. I was scoping around on it earlier, but i'd need a seperate hard disk to relate to and a second set of hands. Neither of which i have."

"I knew it was a bad thing to owe you one." The man grumbled beofre nodding. "Alright. Tell me what you know, and I'll see what i can do. It'll be Matty with me on this one though."

Alex smiled. "I heard about Terry's arm. Good thing he was moving, huh."

He laughed. "The stupid guy won't stop moaning about being stuck in the hospital though."

Alex snorted and pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the man. He unfolded it and started reading, eyebrows creasing as he read more and more.

"You have got to be kidding." He looked up. "Them? And you know for a fact i can't get past half of this. What the hell are you planning?"

Alex stood up and downed the rest of his drink before speaking again. "I'm breaking in. I'll contact you later, to see what you think. You don't have to take this Lewinsky."

Lewinsky shook his head. "I still don't get why you let me off for Cairo. I'll do it. Just give me some time."

"I need to know as much as possible by the end of the week."

"Three days? Thats not a lot of time."

Alex smiled and turned, calling over his shoulder. "I go in on Monday."

Behind him he heard the heavy glug of the man finishing his drink in one go. "You are one crazy little bugger Rider." The man called softly, watching the teenager walk out of the square and vanish into the crowds.

* * *

><p>"Somethings fishy." DiNozzo muttered, flicking through the photo's on his computer slowly.<p>

"That was your lunch, DiNozzo." McGee replied, with a phone to one ear. "Er, yes, I'm looking for an-"

"I don't eat fish McGeek." He threw a rolled up peice of paper at him.

"To healthy." Ziva giggled from where she was. "And what is fishy."

"Everything." He whispered conspiritavely before standing up to walk over to her desk. "The kid for starters."

"I agree." A voice called from DiNozzo's chair. The three of them spun to see Alex lounging with his feet on the desk. "But just for starters?"

"I don't think your supposed to agree with him." Ziva smiled, laughing off her shock.

"Where the hell did you come from?" DiNozzo panted, hand on his heart.

He shrugged. "I've been here a while. Any luck finding Cumberbach?"

McGee threw his phone down and walked over to join him. "No. He's vanished."

"Not necessarily." Gibbs called as he walked around the bullpen. "Talked to a friend of mine. Scuttlebutt is the Navy base in Bethesda has a transfer of recruits, among them happens to be a half Russian sniper. Grab your gear."

"It's a marine thing." DiNozzo whispered to Alex as they headed for the elevator.

Alex laughed. "I know what scuttlebutt is."

Ziva threw her arms up dramatically, ignoring the group dodging out of the way as she did. "How does everyone know who Scuttle Butt is but me?"

* * *

><p>The car pulled in with a shower of dust, and switched of quietly. The group clamered out the car and DiNozzo patted Alex on the back.<p>

"Thank God Ziva wasn't driving kid. We'd never have made it here."

"I'm a good drive."

"Driver, Ziva. The term is I'm a good driver."

"What difference does it make what part i play in the bedroom?"

Alex snorted as the McGee and DiNozzo blushed and looked away. "That's not quite what he meant."

"Your bloody english idioms-"

Alex laughed. "We don't have that many. It's the American's I'm afraid."

Tony straightened up and call out with a british accent. "Of course. Your far too-"

"Cub?" A voice called out across from the carpark as they walked towards the main field. "What the hell are you doing back here?"

Alex turned with a smile on his face. "I could ask you the same thing. Thought you were on leave?"

The man was buff, but tall, easily standing up to DiNozzo's height. His hair was a light brown and cut short, but slightly longer than allowed. He clasped hands with Alex happily.

"I'm acting as an instructor since i can't get back in the feild yet."

Alex laughed as the group began to move forward. "What about the rest of the unit?"

The man shrugged. "Depends. They were loaned out for protection, but that finishes tomorrow."

There was a roar from the middle of the field as the rounded the main cabin. In the centre, a dark skinned man was shouting at a group of panting recruits.

"What the hell was that? You are supposed to be the best! The best of what this generation has to offer! And you call that progress! Drop and give me 50 you bunch of useless morons! I could use your guts for rope and they'd be of more use!"

"Guts for rope?" McGee muttered, eyebrows raised. "Bit harsh, don't you think."

Alex and the man beside him laughed. "It works." They said as one, still watching.

With a growl, the Sargent turned and walked towards them. "J! What the hell are you doing? Shouldn't you be training your bunch of useless twerps."

He shrugged and flashed him a daring grin. "NCIS want to speak to you."

Alex laughed, causing the Sargent to glance at him briefly. "You never would have done that before."

"I'm an instructor now."

"Revenge will be sweet." Alex muttered, ignoring the looks he got.

The Sargent turned to Gibbs. "We aren't offering protection for spoiled brats, take your business else where. I have to go beat some sense into that lot."

J laughed, wincing at the same time. "That was harsh."

Alex sighed. "Its the hair."

Gibbs stepped forward and flashed his ID. "We aren't here about the kid. We need a list of your recruits and transfers."

"Why."

"We're looking for a man, who could be the possible murderer of a marine."

The man sighed and guestured to the group to follow him. "J, you stay here and make them do the course again."

"Right-ho Sarge." J guestured to Alex and he shrugged, following him.

Ziva muttered to Tony as they walked. "Is the Sargent a whore?"

DiNozzo shook his head. "No, Ziva, it's just something people do."

"Well it is pointless." She hissed as they entered the dark office to see files upon files piled around the room.

"Great." DiNozzo ran his hand through his hair. "We're going to be here a while."

* * *

><p>Fifteen men panted infront of them, faces flushed pink. Alex raised an eyebrow at J.<p>

"I thought the American's had standards."

"You're bloody well American-" J paused for a second before shaking his head. "It's the accent. Will you please, just be British."

"What's the fun in that?" He smiled, turning to look at the men infront of him. "I have a point though."

One of the men on the floor growled. "How the bloody hell would you know kid?"

Alex yawned dramatically, ignoring the laugh J was trying to hide. "Depends. How long you been here?"

"Two weeks kid, more than you'll ever do."

J beside him snorted, still laughing, gaining looks from the other recruits.

"How long was i here?" Alex turned to J, a faint smile pulling at his lips.

"Eleven days, and then twelve the next time round."

Fifteen mouths dropped, taking him in carefully.

"Why the heck were you here kid?" Someone near the back asked carefully.

He shrugged. "Transfer."

"Transfer?"

He shot a look at J who shrugged in return. "You've heard of a unit going to Britain to train with the SAS right?"

There were several nods, and looks exchanged.

"Well meet the only 5th member of an SAS team." J guestured, finally unable to contain his laughter at the disbelief.

Alex shook his head at him. "It must be your med's. You were never this happy."

"What's to say anyone can't be happy here? I mean, look at Eagle."

"He's an exception. Eagle is always the exception." He muttered, sitting down on the grass.

"Who's Eagle?" Someone called out, several sitting down to join him on the floor.

J shook his head and looked over his shoulder. "Make like sit ups. Partner up."

There were several groans, but the men did so anyway. Alex guestured to the one man left, and held his legs down for him.

"Eagle is the bane of all things in order and with any record of sanity." He spoke as they started, calling out over J's shouts.

J stopped momentarily, and Alex took over counting, letting him speak. "The burn marks in the cafeteria? Eagle. The missing wall in the showers? Eagle. The half burnt down part of the woods? Eagle-"

"Actually, that one was me." Alex muttered, ignoring the incredulous look. "But it was kinda his fault anyway."

"He got roared at for it. And it was you?"

"No!" Alex shook his head. "He knocked the nitroglyceride into the powder dust when he was having an arm wrestle with Fox. I just threw the container into the woods."

"Why the hell did you do that?" Panted the man he was holding.

He shrugged. "Nitroglyceride and magnesium powder are way too... explosive, when put together. If it had just been left, it would taken out from the Sarge's cabin to the mess hall."

"Swap over." J called out, ignoring the 8 relieved sighs as the men collapsed.

Alex lay down along side the others. J raised an eyebrow.

"You know most people tend to try to get out, of physical exercise."

Alex laughed. "Well I'm not most people. Start counting."

J shrugged and started walking round the group. "1."

"Why were you using nitroglyceride in the first place?" Someone panted.

Alex laughed along with J. "Revenge. 4th Unit slipped chilli powder into the ration packs. So we were going to gas out their hut and wire shut the windows."

"Isn't that a bit of a waste?" The man holding him down asked, sweat glistening on his brow.

"Yeah, but it would have been worth it."

"You got kitchen for the rest of the stay." J said as he walked back round to stop infront of him.

"And what a fun 4 days that was."

The man beside him collapsed panting harshly. "Which is harder... SAS... or here..."

"SAS." J shouted at the same time Alex said "They're the same."

J shook his head. "They were not the same. You guy's get pushed so much harder than we do. I mean, even the Sargent looks like a giant fluffy kitten next to your instructors. And don't get me started on Sargent Matthews."

"You caught him at a bad time is all."

"For the entire 2 weeks?"

"He has a long man-period."

There were several snorts from the group, and Alex looked up at J. "You've lost count, haven't you."

He shrugged and ignored the several groans. "You know were we are, don't you."

"Of course i do." Alex laughed, not even out of breath. "This one makes 52."

Around him, the men collapsed, shooting glares across at him. He stood up and stretched, a grin on his face.

J shook his head. "You're lucky. When we were over there, Matthews made us do 150 before breakfast."

"Along with everything else." Alex pointed out, still smiling. Behind him, there was the tell tale crunch of boots walking across the grass.

They turned to see the Sargent and Gibbs walking towards them. Behind them, the recruits jumped up and snapped to attention, saluting the man as he approached. Gibbs smiled.

"You alright kid?"

Alex laughed. "Its not me you have to worry about."

The Sargent stepped towards him. "You've been here before, haven't you kid."

Alex shared a look with J. "I told you. It's the hair."

He snorted, before turning to the Sarge. "Sir, surely you remember Cub?"

Recognisation flooded across his face. "I knew I'd seen you before. Why did you leave so suddenly last time?"

"CIA."

"Ah."

Gibbs beckoned the teen over, moving slightly over to one side. "We may have to stay here for a while. You alright with that?"

He laughed. "Fine by me."

"No blowing anything up."

"Damn." Alex smiled, as Gibbs walked back to the office. J put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why are you here?"

Alex turned round, face sober. "I need to talk to the Sargent about that actually."

* * *

><p>Ziva dropped the third box onto the floor, sending up plumes of dust. DiNozzo coughed heavily, eye's watering.<p>

"Sheesh, David! Go easy, would you?"

"Sheep? What does that have to do with anything?"

McGee shook his head. "This guy need's a computer. I mean, come on."

Gibbs pushed open the door with a coffee in his hand. "Anything?"

"Sorry Boss. These things are more messy than... well something really messy." DINozzo called from the floor, where he was flicking through files.

"How's the kid?" McGee asked, looking up from another box.

"Turns out he's been here before."

"Alex?" Ziva shook her head. "He's a bit young to have been with the marines."

"Apparently not."

DiNozzo sighed and threw down the file he had been flicking through. "Nothing's in order. It's all just strewn into boxes or piled. It'd take months to find anything."

"And we're not exactly sure what we're looking for either." McGee added. "He needs a computer."

"He has a computer." Alex called from the doorway, hands full with drinks for them. DiNozzo thanked him as he came round.

"Why didn't he let us use it then?" McGee asked as he gave him one.

Alex shrugged. "He doesn't use it. It's for show."

"How do you know?"

"I hacked it first time i was here. He only uses his emails."

"Why were you here?" Ziva asked, moving round to another box.

"Like i said before. Transfer." Alex turned back around to walk out, looking back over his shoulder once. "You'd probably have more luck in the central data base at the recruitment offices."

The door swung closed behind him. McGee blinked. "Why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) How's that? You guy's liking this so far? Why do you think Alex want's to break into the base? Suspense! Unanswered questions! Dun dun duuuuuuun! R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

DiNozzo rested his head against the cool desk laguidly, eyes closed.

"How long were we looking through those boxes?" McGee moaned from his chair, head tipped back.

"How many files did we go through?" He countered, holding up his hads. "I've halfed my lifespan with papercuts."

Ziva chuckled. "Don't be so dramatic."

"Dramatic? I'm not kidding." He sat up and began to point at small marks on his skin. "Look, there's one here, and one here- and here."

"That's not a papercut DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he walked round the bullpen towards the lift that would take him to Abby's lab.

"Are you sure Boss? Because it looks like one, feels like one, and definately hurts like one."

Ziva laughed again, placing her mug onto the desk. "You are like a child."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"You aren't helping your case DiNozzo."

"Boss!" He put his hands flat on the desk, watching as the silver haired man walked back over to his desk. "I thought you were going to see Abby?"

Gibbs raised an unpertubed eyebrow, before taking something out of his coat pocket from the back of the chair and walking out again.

DiNozzo turned, eyebrow raised. "What do you suppose that was then?"

McGee sighed, sitting forward and typing. "None of our business."

"He does not have to tell us everything, remember." Ziva pointed out, resigning herself to filling out forms.

There was silence for a minute, before DiNozzo straightened up. "Where's the kid?"

* * *

><p>Alex stood outside the Sargents cabin as they drove up, slouching against the wall with an unimpressed look on his face. Ziva and DiNozzo climbed out slowly, walking towards him almost hesitantly.<p>

"We're sorry kid." The latter started, rubbing his head.

"Have you ever tried military food?" Alex cut off. "Let me tell you, it sucks. No matter what country your in."

DiNozzo was quiet for a minute before replying. "That's what you're bothered about?"

"No. Well yes. I mean, J made me eat it. It's like mush. Worse than mush. Sometimes i think the assault course just has all the leftovers thrown on it."

DiNozzo let out a sigh of relief. "And here i was thinking that you were going to explode and kill us."

"I could always kill you in your sleep. I could probably get away with that."

"Not that's a bit far."

"You forgot me." Alex stated, crossing his arms. "You have no say in the matter."

DiNozzo hung his head and sniffed, ignoring Ziva's laughter.

"Whipped."

"Er, Ziva, that's not a good place to put that term." DiNozzo muttered as they walked towards the car.

"He put you in your place, did he not?"

"Well, yes but-"

"Then the term fits. Or is it the boot?" She slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, ignoring the exhasperated reply.

DiNozzo shook his head. "Sorry kid, looks like you won't get a chance to kill me. Ziva's going to do it for you."

Ziva shook her head at the same time as Alex began to laugh. "She's not that bad."

DiNozzo turned in his seat to look at him as they pulled out of the parking lot. "How can you say that?"

He shrugged. "She stays on the road."

"She stay's on the road..." He stared at him unblinking before turning back around. "That's fair enough."

Ziva laughed and shot him a look. "And what? I suppose you do not?"

Alex shrugged, grinning wolfishly. "Of course not. Too many cars."

There was silence before DiNozzo slapped his hand to his face. "Are all spies suicidal?"

"No." Ziva spoke up, turning to look at him as they pulled out onto the main road, speed increasing suddenly. "But it helps."

Alex snorted. "I'd say insane more than suicidal."

"Oh, that too."

DiNozzo moaned and put his head in his hands. "Why did i agree to this?"

"Look on the brightside." Alex smiled. "At least I'm not driving."

"There's no sidewalk."

"I'm sure i could find a pavement somewhere."

"You're in America, its a sidewalk."

"I'm british, it's a pavement."

Ziva growled and yanked on the steering wheel harder than necessarily as they took a corner, sending DiNozzo into the window. "Shut it, I am trying to drive."

"You call that driving?" DiNozzo muttered, yelping as his head struck the window again. "Parlay! Take me to your captain!"

Alex snorted, undisturbed in the back seat by the sudden movements of the car. "What's with the movie reference?"

DiNozzo turned to look at him. "You've seen Pirates of the Caribbean?"

"I've seen them all. I'm britsh."

"Is that your excuse for everything?" Ziva cut in, ignoring DiNozzo's glare.

"Whilst i'm with other agencies." Alex paused for a second before flashing a smile. "That or I'm a Rider to anyone who know's it."

"What other movies have you seen then?" DiNozzo asked, shooting Ziva a look as she tried to speak again.

"Well what have you seen?"

"James Bond."

"Of course."

"Die Hard."

"Brilliant."

"Die Hard 2?"

"No where near as good as the first."

DiNozzo whistled his appreciation. "A man after my own heart."

Ziva sighed as they turned onto the interstate, nearly doubling their speed. DiNozzo rubbed his head where he had smacked it on the window, glaring at slightly at Alex.

"How come you don't get hurt?"

* * *

><p>Gibbs looked over the railing outside the Directors office as the group came in. He smiled, watching as they went to their seats, laughing and grinning. McGee was soon called into the fray, over some kind of debate on what was better.<p>

Vance stepped beside him stiffly. "What are you up to Gibbs?"

He glanced at him, before turning to watch again."Depends Director."

Vance snorted quietly. "You have that look on your face."

"What look?"

"That you've just stuck your nose in too far and you can't get back out."

Gibbs smiled and turned to him. "I guess your heard from Abby?"

"She had no choice. I'm her Boss."

He sighed and guestured, leading Vance into MTAC. "What do you think?"

"There's something else that he hasn't told us. He's using us, for some reason or another."

"You going out?"

Gibbs smiled and moved away, taking the stairs down.

McGee looked up as he entered the bullpen. "I found the guy who met Walker at the airport. Running his face through AFIS and got a BOLO out on his car."

He nodded and picked up his jacket, walking back out without a word. McGee raised an eyebrow to the others who were half paying attention.

"Did i do something wrong?"

* * *

><p>Gibbs sat on the bench with a cup of coffee held loosely in his hand. Around the park, children played, their shouts and screams distinguishable across the grass space. The bench was underneath an old tree, that shed its's leave few and far between as the man waited.<p>

Across the way, a similarly dressed man approached, long non-descript coat and grey hair approached him, sitting beside him quietly for a minute.

Gibbs took another swig off his coffee. Fornell snorted.

"Didn't you get me any?"

"Now why would i do that?"

He sighed and turned away, watching as a ball rolled towards them shortly followed by a small kid.

"What do you want, Jethero?"

Gibbs took another drink. "I want to know what I'm up against."

"What do you mean." Fornell muttered, turning back to him again. "Are you sure you haven't got me a coffee."

He smiled into his drink. "There's something going on. And i don't like not knowing."

"You're talking about the kid, aren't you." He sighed and shook his head. "There's a not a lot i can tell you. I don't know much myself."

"What do you know?"

"Just he appeared 2 years ago and has managed to do the unthinkable. He's done more than most, seen more than anyone should, and still manages to laugh and smile."

"How did you meet him, Fornell?"

He sighed and sat back, rubbing the top of his head. "I told you, he stole my car. The stupid kid. But you know what's odd? He came and apologised to me afterward. I mean sure, he knocked me out afterwards when i tried to arrest him, but i suppose its the thought that counts."

Gibbs smiled again. "So you like him then."

Fornell shrugged. "Can't say if i do or i don't." He was quiet for a minute. "Surely you've heard something yourself?"

The man shrugged. "Nope."

Fornell sat there beside him, as if weighing up something in his head. "What are you up to Gibbs?"

He smiled and stood up, handing him his coffee cup as he walked away. "The Director said the same thing."

"He has good reason to!" He muttered before taking a sip, stopping halfway. "It's empty!" He shouted at the retreating figure, faintly annoyed. After a minute, he sighed and stood himself, shaking his head.

"Here i am, being nice and coming to meet him. I didn't even get any coffee."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) So what do you think? Anywhere you hoping i should go? Ha ha let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Gibbs!" Abby called, waving the brown folder round as she entered the bullpen. "Where's Gibbs?"

DiNozzo looked up from where he was rolling up paper to throw at McGee. "Went out not too long ago. Why, what's up Abs?"

She shrugged, plaits bobbing. "Just something he asked me to look into. Where's Alex gone?"

"With Ziva on a coffee run. We still have a few hours before we get to leave for good."

Abby hummed her consent, glancing at Gibbs desk undecisively and tapping the file against her hand absently.

DiNozzo look up at her, amused. "I'll give it to him if you'd like, since you have your bowling competition."

Abby paused before grinning. "Thanks Tony!" She handed it to him, her gratitude radiating off her face. "Tell him i have my cell if he needs to ring me."

"Sure thing Abbs." DiNozzo muttered, opening the folder as the elevator doors closed behind her. McGee sighed and looked over, refrainging from his original comment as he saw the way DiNozzo was emersed in the file.

"What you reading?"

"Shush Probie! Go hack the CIA or something."

"You never read unless it has something to do with cars, or movies. You hate reading."

"Why would i hate reading?"

"You give me all your paperwork to do because you can't be bothered reading what you sign."

DiNozzo glanced at him to see him moving beside him. "That just makes me lazy."

Leaning backwards, he brandished the paper in front of him. "This is pure brilliance; why doesn't anything like this ever happen in your stories?"

Lying the folder on his knee, he held open the file for the two to read. After a minute, McGee reached forward to turn the page, ignoring the slaps at his hand.

"You do realise this is a report file right?" McGee asked quietly.

DiNozzo's head shot up, darkening as he remembered what he'd read. "You mean someone actually went through all this..." Slowly, he closed the folder, limbs heavy with unsurity. He stood and with a look at McGee, put the folder on Gibbs desk.

McGee spoke as he retook his seat. "Why would Gibbs have a report file?"

Shaking his head, Tony sighed. "If it's why i think it is, and who's it is... It looks like Gibbs is trying to find out more about whether he can trust-"

"Trust who, DiNozzo?" Gibbs spoke up, coming into the bullpen. He glanced at his desk, seeing the folder and raised his eyebrows.

DiNozzo stared back at him. "You don't trust him. Do you?"

"I don't know him, DiNozzo."

"So?" He shook his head and glanced over Gibbs shoulder. "He's a kid, dragged into something he doesn't belong in."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "What makes you say that?"

DiNozzo ignored him, not backing down. "What does your gut say?"

"That he's trouble."

"That's what you said about Ziva. And look how that turned out."

"Ari-"

"Not Ari." DiNozzo cut off. "Ziva. She belongs here now. She fits in. Nobody else could have fitted in the Kate size hole, but she did. Give him a chance Boss. If he gets into trouble, it won't matter what we think. It'll happen whether we like it or not."

Gibbs was quiet before he turned and moved behind his desk. McGee let out a breath he'd been holding, catching DiNozzo's eye as he walked to his own seat.

"Tony."

"Yeah Boss?"

He was picked up the folder absently, taking out his glasses. "Don't read folders that aren't for you."

* * *

><p>Ziva pointed to a short, darkly toned woman with short, frizzy brunett hair carrying a stack of papers past the snack machine. "How about her?"<p>

"Receptionist. Right handed and organised. Easily worried, not married, but in a relationship. Has a cat." Alex replied, taking a sip from his drink.

She chuckled. "Correst. Cynthia is the Directors assistant." She paused for a minute, turning her head a little. "What can you tell about me?"

"You draw, when you can. You have no particular preference between coffee and tes, you always carry a knife, like the rest of the team, which presents the idea of a mistake or an accident. You like to start a fight with a punch from your right fist and a kick, telling me that Mossad taught you to not hold back."

Ziva was silent for a minute before she spoke. "The knives are one of Gibbs rules. Am i really the readable?"

Alex shrugged. "Not to most people. But then again, I've been in your house."

With a nod to reassure herself, she took hold of three of the cups, Alex grabbing the last one, as they made their way back to the bullpens, the only one missing being Gibbs. McGee grinned as the came round, Alex handing him a cup.

"Do you have any-"

Alex held out his hand, giving the man a handful of sugars and a stirer. Ziva chuckled, taking a seat at her own desk, ignoring the confused looks from McGee.

DiNozzo took a heavy swallow, before leaning back with a content sigh. "I needed that."

Ziva snorted, taking out a file from the bottom of her drawer and opening it. "I think you have an addiction."

"Well." DiNozzo shrugged. "If i have an addiction, imagine what Gibbs has?"

McGee grinned before turning back to his computer. With a click he put up a grainy image of an airport CCTV.

"Found Walker coming in from China, 4:45 in the afternoon. One bag that doesn't look like it could hold much. Met this guy outside the airport, where he took a black Audi A8 out towards Clinton. Lost him soon after."

"What about the man that picked him up?" DiNozzo asked round his drink.

"Running his through AFIS now, got a BOLO out on the car as well." He replied, clicking onto a photo and putting it up on the main screen. The man was gangly, his back half hunched almost nervously in a suit that hung from his fram. His hair was brown, falling over his eye's and easily reaching his shoulders.

DiNozzo scratched his head as he stood infront of the screen. "Does he look familiar to you?"

"Yeah, but we've never seen him before." McGee muttered, standing up as well.

"He looks like Cumberbach." Alex pointed out, still drinking. McGee glanced over, before pulling up a second picture. DiNozzo paused, his cup halfway to his moth.

"They're brothers."

"His brother was the chaperone?" McGee asked, confused as he looked at the images. There was a beep as AFIS pulled up a profile. Ziva began to read as Gibbs walked round the bullpen from where he had been with Ducky. He picked up the coffee on his desk and spun round to face the screen, listening in.

"Tom Branders, 37." She spoke quietly. "Lives with his friend at 42 Grinfer Place apartments. No criminal record of such."

"Tony, Ziva, go grab him. McGee, i want to know who he's been in contact with since the 14th, and where he's been."

With a chorus of "On it Boss"'s, each of them set to do their respective jobs. Alex sighed, amused, looking at cup almost regretfully.

"I'm going to need another drink."

* * *

><p>Tony swung the car round in front of a clean looking block of flats, flowers lining the narrow pathway to the communal front door. DiNozzo turned to Ziva disbelievingly.<p>

"This does not look like an evil lair."

"It is the brothers, is it not? Besides. He probably does not think himself evil." She pointed out as they walked up to the door. A woman, pushing a buggy, backed out the door and DiNozzo held it open for her with a smile. Once she was out of the way, the two slid in, heading straight up the stairs. They stopped at a plain back door at the end of the hallway, were Ziva knocked loudly.

They waited for a few minutes before the door opened to the man from the picture. Ziva flashed her ID. "Tom Branders?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind coming with us to answer some questions with us please?"

The man blinked, looking from one to the other. "Er, sure... Er." He stepped backwards slightly. "Let me just get my coat." The man turned, disappearing momentarily before closing the door behind him. "Lead on."

Ziva headed down the stairs, followed by the two men. They left quietly, walking to the car in silence. The man slid into the back, buckling his seatbelt before speaking.

"What do you need to ask me questions on?"

DiNozzo looked at Ziva before turning to face him. "We found a man under the name of Jackson Mollay murdered. We have reason to suspect you met with the man in the last month."

Tom frowned. "I'm sorry, but i don't know a Jackson."

"Well, we also have evidence that that's not his name. Don't worry, it won't take long."

He sighed, before turning to look out the window. "Well, if your sure."

They pulled up at NCIS, leaving the car as people began to leave the building. Tom raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you finished now?"

Ziva chuckled. "We're not finished till our Boss says we are."

They entered the elevator after signing in, heading straight to the interrogations rooms. Ziva split off, telling Tony that he'd get Gibbs. DiNozzo held the door open for him as they reached the room. He smiled, reassuringly.

"Someone will be along shortly, won't be waiting long."

With a sigh, Tom settled into the chair, waiting patiently. He wasn't alone more than a few minutes before a silver haired man walked in. He sat down, holding a thin folder in his hands.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about this man." He pulled out a photo and pushed it across the table.

Tom shook his head, looking at the picture. "I don't know this man."

"Really?" He pulled out a second photo, a blown up image of his holding the door open to Walker. "Because this says otherwise."

He looked again, sighing heavily. "Okay, so i drove him somewhere. And what?"

"Where did you take him?"

"To meet someone, on the edge of 34th."

"Israk Cumberbach."

The man was silent, watching Gibbs. "You know more than i do."

Gibbs was quiet, before standing up. "You can go. We may need to get in touch with you."

Tom nodded, walking out the door. In the hallway, there was a teenager, leaning against the wall, waiting. he faltered when he saw him.

"Alex?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

He stuttered, ignorant of the man behind him watching him. "You survived."

"Of course." Alex flashed him a grin, before punching him straight in the face. "That, was for breaking the key."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Looks like Alex has more explaining to do than we thought! I wonder what connection he has to this... Tom Branders, and who Israk Cumberbach actually is. R&R!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs dragged Alex down the hall, almost throwing him into the room. "What the hell was that for!" He yelled, getting right into his face.

Alex stared at him. "It doesn't matter."

"The hell it matters! You just punched a potential suspect- and that's enough to get him released!"

"He didn't kill anyone. He can't shoot a gun, because he has a disconjuncted nerve, meaning his fingers can't close properly." Alex muttered moving away from him.

Gibbs slammed his hand onto the desk. "Maybe! But you can't just go punching people! Hell if he's going to answer anything now!"

Alex turned round, eyes narrowed. "That's what your worried about?"

"That's my job!"

He growled. "You think. that this is it? You think that John Walker's death is all that matters?"

"It's all that matters right now. Tell me, now. Why did you punch Branders?"

"You have no idea, what he's done."

"Then tell me!" Gibbs shouted, moving back to stand infront of him. "Tell me what he's done!"

Alex growled and lifted his shirt up to his chest. "That, is what he did."

On his chest, sat a mess of scars, red and puckered, radiating from his hip and dissappearing under his t-shirt. The cuts was messy, as if Alex had been free to struggle as they had been carved onto him. Gibbs took a step back.

"What the-"

"That, is what he did. He snapped the key to the chains that I was hooked up too, leaving me travelling towards a meat saw. Do you have any idea, what that felt like? The pain; the fear; the hopelessness? He left me, Gibbs. To die." He stepped forwards slowly. "He left me, and he left my unit, to die."

Gibbs backed up again, hitting the table and leaning against it heavily, still staring at his stomach. "You're..."

Alex looked down to see the display of wounds, old and new, layed out against his skin. He couldn't tell anymore, what he had gotten when, and by what means. Scars upon scars, piled atop one another till there was little skin unmarked by the horror. He dropped his top and stepped away, leaning against the wall. "This is my life."

Gibbs ran a hand through his hair, an odd and unfamiliar movement to him. His eyes where wide and unsure, which looked out of place on him. "I knew it was bad... But that's just..."

Alex paused. "How did you know... You got my file. Didn't you."

Gibbs didn't reply, still staring at his chest as though he could still see what was underneath.

"That was you." He continued. "You couldn't do it, though, and neither could McGee. Which means you asked someone else. But not someone of a high clearance either, because Smithers told me they were hacked to get the folder. So someone I haven't met, and won't meet, someone outside of NCiS. So why?"

Gibbs looked up at him. "I don't trust you."

Alex smiled, ruefully. "And neither should you. But there's a reason i wear long sleeved tops, and don't tell my life story to everyone I meet. I wait. Till I trust them, Gibbs. No matter who they are."

He turned, walking away, reaching the door without hinderance. Gibbs stared at the wall, unaware of the betrayed look Alex shot him as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Gibbs sidled into the bullpen, heading straight for McGee's desk. "I need you to send a copy of the recordings from the interrigation room down to Ducky."<p>

"Okay Boss... But why?"

"Need him to check something for me." He stepped away, turning to root through his desk as McGee did as he was asked.

"Boss, this is you and..." He trailed off, looking up to see Gibbs waiting expectantly. Obediantly, he pulled out the pen drive and handed it over, watching almost dazedly as he left without a word. He shook his head, turning back to his computer where the frozen image of Alex was, hand holding up his shirt.

McGee sighed, leaning backwards. "Things just got worse."

* * *

><p>The metallic doors to autopsy slid open as he neared, and the calm voice of Ducky resonated out before Gibbs saw him.<p>

"There's nothing wrong with it, young man, just a bit bloody. I'm sure Tony here wouldn't mind showing you where you could get cleaned up. Just be careful not to knock it around my dear boy."

A nasaly voice replied, and Gibbs strode in, coming to a stop in front of Tom Branders. There was a hard look in his eyes as he took in the sight before him.

"You are a coward." He snarled, before punching him in the jaw. The man's head snapped back, sending him stumbling.

"Jethero!" Ducky shouted, as DiNozzo stepped between the two of them, shooting him a confused look.

"Ziva, lock him up. Don't let him go anywhere." He growled, stalking past the two of them and over to Ducky. Ziva nodded and hauled the man to the elevator, ignoring his ramblings as they entered. DiNozzo walked up beside him.

"I know his voice was bad, but that doesn't make it okay to-"

"I hope you have an excellent explanation for that Leroy. Because you will end up paying for that." Ducky growled, nearing him. Gibbs held out his hand, giving the man the red pen drive he had taken from McGee.

"What's that?" He asked finally, curiosity spiked. The group moved to the old computer sat on the desk in the far corner, the Doctor sitting in the chair in front.

The computer loaded up slowly, leaving them in a tense silence.

After a minute, a file opened, and DiNozzo leaned forward to turn up the sound.

_"You think. that this is it? You think that John Walker's death is all that matters?"_ Alex 's voice rang out, breaking the quiet.

"Jethero, what is-"

_"It's all that matters right now. Tell me, now. Why did you punch Branders?"_

"Boss..." DiNozzo murmured, still watching the screen unsure.

_"You have no idea, what he's done." _The teenager growled on the screen, startling the group. Alex had never spoken like that- never reacted like that in any way before. It wasn't the Alex they'd seen, and it scared all of them.

_"Then tell me! Tell me what he's done!"_

There was movement on the screen, as Alex lifted his top._ "That, is what he did."_

Gibbs leant forward, pausing the image on the frame of Alex, showing his stomach. The machine hummed dimly, as two of the group stared in horror at the decimation of the boy.

"I need to know what could have caused them Duck. I want to know what else he's been through."

"You didn't get the whole file, did you?" DiNozzo muttered, looking at him hesitantly.

He didn't reply, instead watching Ducky as he stared at the screen.

"They're less than 2 months old, Jethero, and should still have him kept in the hospital. There's no telling what else he's hiding- this is only his stomach."

"What are they from?"

"I can only begin to imagine. I'm suprised he's even able to move. The amount of pain these would cause- these are the kinds of wounds I would attribute to cause of death." He replied, quietly, sharing a look with Gibbs. The doors behind them bleeped as Ziva strode in.

"I am going to need a reason to keep him locked up." She stopped in front of the screen, the image catching her attention. Her jaw dropped at the sight. "Manyak."

"Where is Alex?" Tony muttered, looking over at her.

She looked up startled, face slightly pale. "He said he was tired, so he was going back to my flat..."

Gibbs straightened up, walking to the elevator. "Ziva with me. Ducky, I want to know everything possible about those scars."

The doors closed quietly behindthe two, as they headed to get their belongings.

"Where are we going, Boss?"

"Your flat."

* * *

><p>It was quiet when they finally arrived, the appartment silent as they entered. Gibbs headed straight for the back bedroom, ignoring Ziva's apprehensive glance at the room. He threw open the door to see Alex, emersed in papers and gun's, sitting on the floor.<p>

He raised an eyebrow. "Ever heard of knocking?"

Gibbs narrowed his eye's. "It's not your house."

"Shouldn't matter."

The two stepped further into the room, taking a better look at the blueprints and maps scattered across the floor, as well as the open cell phone lying beside him. The screen dimmed with neglection, as though it had just been used.

"What are these?" Gibbs asked, kneeling to pick up the layout of a building, which had small notes written on it.

"What do they look like?"

He narrowed his eye's, reading a few of them. "You're planning on breaking in to here, aren't you?"

Alex shrugged, flicking between some files. "I have no choice."

"Of course you have a choice!" Gibbs ground out, throwing the paper down. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," he looked up, eyes sad. "I wasn't the only one."

Gibbs was quiet as Ziva stepped forward. "What do you mean?"

"My unit. I was captured with my unit. And they're still in there."

"You should leave it to the professionals." Gibbs snapped, glaring at him. "Instead of getting yourself killed."

Alex jumped to his feet, and stepped over the papers. "What do you expect of me, Gibbs? They are my unit- my friends. They're still with them- VVV has them, doing God know's what. Israk Cumberbach is a peice of the puzzle, nothing more. I've tracked him halfway across the world and back again. Because no one else would."

"Your unit? You spoke to one of them at the Navy base- you heard him. They're on protection leave-"

"I'm not American." Alex ground out, letting his accent slip back in. "I don't have a place in Unit 39. They were our transfer partners."

"Transfer partners?" Ziva asked, trying to calm the two of them down.

"Where a unit from one country teams up with another from a different one, and they both train together in each's home country." Gibbs muttered, stepping backwards. "That's why the man called out to you and seemed so suprised. You're SAS."

"Unofficially. The only 5th member of any team. But then again, the paperwork always leaves me off." Alex shrugged, but didn't move. "You know what it's like, Gibbs. To be a part of something like that. You'd lay your life down for them. They think I'm dead. I was dragged away from them, broken and bleeding."

"They could be dead. You don't know if they're even alive." He said, quietly.

"They're alive. They've been offering a trade- me for them. And you know what? I took it. I took the trade. Cumberbach was the lead I told you about. He wasn't just that. He was the line, between me and my unit. Before he tried to finish it himself. His brother didn't know that he's seen me again. He hasn't seen me in 6 weeks."

Gibbs didn't speak, instead continued to watch the boy. Alex sighed. "You have to trust me on this. It ends, one way or the other."

Gibbs looked over his shoulder, to see Ziva, watching them carefully. In her eye's, he could see understanding, saddness, and relief. She was the one who spoke first.

"They're the only ones you have left, aren't they. The only ones you trust properly."

Alex smiled, softly. "You know how it is. Piece by piece, it's all destroyed. Doesn't make it any easier."

Ziva nodded to him, her mind made up. She caught her bosses eye, and smiled, tightly, knowing that her decision could tear her apart from the team she had found.

Gibbs turned back, to look at the spread on the floor; the guns and knives, the maps along with the blueprints, all waiting and prepared.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Tell me what we can do to help."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) And here it all fall's into place! And Gibbs goes balistic! What did he read in the file i wonder? How much does he actually know? Quite an angry chapter, don't you think :D Heh, R&R!**


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs snapped his phone shut, turning back into the room to see everything slid into one black rucksack. He raised an eyebrow at Alex who shrugged, slinging it over his shoulder.

They headed to the car in silence.

Ziva was leaning against the car door, file in hand. Gibbs took it off her, opening the door and guesturing, ignoring the annoyed look he was given. Alex slid into the back seat.

"Remind me why you will not tell us the plan, yet?" She asked as Gibbs pulled out of the driveway.

Alex shrugged. "Because there are more people in on this than you think, and if you're getting involved, I may as well tell everyone what's happening."

"What do you mean, there are more people involved?" Gibbs ground out, shooting him a look in the mirror.

He smiled cheekily. "Exactly that."

Gibbs refrained from replying, ignoring the look that Ziva shot him. She turned away and sighed, gazing out the window.

"Well this is awkward."

A shrill ringing broke through the silence, and each of them reached for their own phones. The two in the front, turned suprised to see Alex picking up.

"Hello?"

Ziva smiled, seeing Gibbs' grip tighten on the steering wheel.

"Ah, you got my message? Of course it's safe. It's a burn phone."

Ziva winced again, feeling sorry for the car. Gibbs took the next corner sharper than necessarily, clearly unhappy.

"Well, did you get the other things I asked for? I'm going to need them." There was a minute of silence as they pulled into the parking lot of NCIS. Ziva unclicked her belt, looking over her shoulder to see Alex listening intently as he climbed out the car. Gibbs slammed the car door behind him.

"On such short notice? That's fine. I'll make do. See what you can do about the others- and tell Matty well done, all things considering." He snapped the phone closed and looked at them unimpressed.

Gibbs glared at him, before leading them to the elevator. They reached the bullpen's to see the Director waiting for them, along with the rest of the team.

Said man raised an eyebrow at them. "I hope you have a suitable explanation-"

"The kid is planning on breaking into some place."

There was a beat of silence, before Alex sighed. "You make it sound so... crude."

"Essentially, that is what it is." Ziva pointed out, moving to stand by DiNozzo.

He shrugged. "If your going to be mean, call it a rescue mission."

"But that's not mean." DiNozzo muttered.

"I haven't explained it yet."

Gibbs mentally ground his teeth, before turning to Vance. "We're offering our help."

Vance raised an eyebrow. "We are now, are we? I don't remember giving permission for anything like this."

Alex stepped forward, standing between the two men. "Maybe you should listen to me fully first, before saying anything."

The Director sighed, before guesturing. "Shall we talk in my office?"

"Maybe MTAC would be better." Alex replied, tilting his head slightly and not hiding the grin.

DiNozzo whistled. "You have guts kid."

He laughed, grinning back at him. "Cause i can."

"Fine." Vance muttered, turning and heading up the stairs.

DiNozzo's eye's brow raised further. "And get away with it."

Gibbs sped up to walk beside the Director. "Why are you doing this?"

He shrugged and glanced back over his shoulder, to see DiNozzo trying to pry something out of Alex, whilst Ziva and McGee watched on amused. "I'm not sure myself." He looked at him, sceptically. "What about you?"

Gibbs paused as they reached MTAC. "He made me realise something."

Vance opened the door and walked inside, the dark lights unsettling compared to the brightness outside. The group walked in, stopping at the front of a room, a huge screen before them. Gibbs turned to speak to Alex.

"Who is it you want online, exactly?"

He flipped open his phone and shrugged. "Need the Sargeant from the Navy Base, the Sargeant from Brecon Beacons, Wales, and well, what the hell, MI6 just to let them know what's going on. Might want to get that one out the way first though."

Vance sighed and shrugged, guesturing to the techies, sitting at a console. The majority of the group sat down at the back, leaving Alex standing with Gibbs and Vance.

On screen, a thin blond haired woman appeared, smiling faintly. "Rider. I was wondering when we'd be hearing from you. How did the French Embassy go?"

"Oh ha ha." Alex drawled, slipping his hands in his pockets. "I didn't blow it up, which should count for something."

The woman on the screen, laughed genuinely, something that neither Blunt or Jones would have done. "So what can we do for you?"

"I need to request... well, let's just say some le-way."

"How long?"

"A week maybe, depending. Probably less."

The woman frowned. "What exactly are you planning?"

Alex grinned, almost devilishly. "That's for me to know, and hide from prying eyes."

She sighed, and scribbled something down. "I'm for it. The Boss hasn't said anything recently, so you should be all right."

"Yeah, he'll just drag me off anyway." He nodded to the woman. "Thanks Clarrise."

"Sure thing Rider." The screen cut off, leaving the group in silence. Alex smiled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that was the Deputy of MI6. Isn't she lovely?"

There was a laugh, whilst the rest stared on at him unabashed. He sighed and shook his head, swinging his bag off his shoulder and moving over to a console. He took an empty seat and started to type, bringing up a scroll of numbers which he added to. Gibbs guestured to McGee who sidled up behind him, watching him. Inwardly, Alex smiled. So Gibbs didn't trust him that much.

"Do you want me to slow down McGee?" He whispered, turning his head slightly.

There was a snort from Ziva who had heard, and McGee blushed. "It's okay."

Alex hit a few more keys, resolutely hitting enter before standing up and moving to stand beside Gibbs again. There was a few seconds of blackness, before an old, beat up jeep came into view. Alex sighed, and frowned, ignoring the unsure looks he was getting.

There was a loud shout in the background. "What the hell was that? You call yourselves elite! Cub could do that! Better, faster, and he's half your age! Do you want me to come over there and kick your ass across the course! Because by the way you're going! IT'D BE FASTER! Do it again! And if you don't cut your time down by at least a minute- you'll have kitchen duty for a month!"

Crunching footsteps neared the jeep, and there was a clunk and a set of harnesses were thrown into the back. A tall, buff man swung the laptop round and narrowed his eye's.

"What does America want with the SAS? We've already done our transfer. Not due for another till May."

Alex sighed and turned. "NCIS, Sargeant Matthews, SAS."

The man on the screen raised his eyebrow's. "Cub? What the bloody hell are you doing over there?"

"Still trailing them I'm afraid."

Sargeant Matthews sighed and looked away. "We aren't getting much help on this end I'm afraid. J-Unit were out, but then they got called back in. Upstairs I'm afraid. We've been told to stay on lock down till they give the word."

Alex frowned. "Any particular reason?"

"None that they gave us. What you calling for?"

"I found them. We go in on Monday."

The Sargeant smiled lightly. "You get them back here Cub. Eagle still owes me that 20."

Alex laughed. "Will do Sarge."

The video screen cut off and Alex frowned. "Damn it. He's onto it."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mean's my Boss is close to figuring out what I'm doing. Ignore any call's from 6 from now on. I am not being dragged halfway across the world only to loose this trail again."

Alex sighed and shrugged, pulling out two files and passing them to the two men beside him. "Have we got a table, because I don't think your suit's will agree with sitting on the floor."

McGee and DiNozzo stood, moving to head out the room. Ziva walked up beside him. "You command a lot of respect."

He smiled, ignoring the two who were listening in. "To those who know my story. Or at least, some of it."

"This is your plan?" Vance cut in, eyebrows raised. "Aren't you restricted? Doesn't your Boss have anything to say about this?"

"Blunt? Of course he does. I just ignore him." He raised a hand to cut him off. "As long as I do my job, he's not too bothered about what I get up to on the side."

"I thought he retired?" Vance questioned as the table was brought in and the group moved to surround it.

"He was, but Jones went back to '5, and Crawley... Well... There was quite a boom about his departure."

"You have a twisted sense of humour." DiNozzo muttered.

"Come's with the job."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out three sheets and a map, laying them on the table. With a flourish, he stepped back. "That, is what we're breaking into."

The compound was huge, spread across the map. DiNozzo bent down to take a closer look, before jerking up suprised. "This is underground?"

Alex nodded, and moved the sheets. "There are three floors. The ground floor- or the first floor to you lot, and two underground levels. The bottom one's mainly for storage, and that's, where we'd be heading." He moved round the table and pointed to a blank area of space in the far corner. "This is where they'd be held."

Vance moved towards him. "You haven't told me why we're doing this yet? Or why Gibbs agreed to help."

Alex paused, looking at him sternly. "There's no going back from then."

He nodded and looked at the techies who sat, watching them. "You might want to leave. We can handle it from here."

The three of them left quickly, and the rest took seats in the theatre. Alex sighed.

"Two months ago, I was running undercover, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when I ran into a retrieval mission run by my old unit. I got them what they needed since I was undercover where they wanted to storm. VVV- they cottoned onto us. We were captured when I dropped it off."

He paused to move to a file, opening it and showing them four pictures. "My unit and I, were transported halfway across the world, as 6 tracked us. I have a feeling it was more to do with the fact I hadn't quite finished. That's when I first Cumberbach. He was speaking with one of the men in the warehouse we were being held. They didn't know I was awake. Shortly after, his brother, was put in charge of us when we reached Sweden. That's when I got the scar."

"What's it from?" Ziva asked, speaking up. "That's not a normal blade."

Alex smiled ruefully. "A motorised meat saw. That's why I punched him. He snapped the key to my cuffs off in front of me and my unit, and left me to die. I cut the chains on the saw, but not without paying for the move. I swung into it, and it nearly cut me in half. Dislocated both my wrists and my left shoulder."

"Ducky said they were two months old." DiNozzo spoke up, not looking at him.

Alex shrugged. "One and 25 days. I broke out of the compound with my unit, only to be re-captured. Eagle got shot in the shoulder, and we couldn't leave him no matter how he argued."

"Your one weakness. Your unit." Gibbs called him out, raising his eyebrows.

"You know how it is. We were taken back, and I payed."

"You mean you were tortured." Ziva muttered, looking at him carefully.

He sighed. "Call it what you will. I wasn't too bothered about that whole thing, it's happened before. What was worse was that my unit had to sit and watch. They watched me, bleed and break. And then I was dragged away from them, too weak to fight, too weak to even make a noise. They think I'm dead."

There was a beat of silence, before Alex looked up at them. "They're broken, without a doubt. They're alive, but they can't get out. And they'll be blaming themselves, for what they thought was my death. 'What if'. 'Why?'. They're alway's the questions you're faced with. But I haven't seen them in a month and three weeks."

"When you got involved with the French embassy." Vance stated in realisation. "That's what you meant when you said they carted you halfway across the world when you had a lead."

Alex nodded. "I'd just found out that they were being held in an old Scorpia Warehouse in France, and MI6 decided to step in. Sent me off to Luxembourg for a week. Where I saw Cumberbach again. Not that 6 know."

"You said about him when we first met, when you asked if you could call someone."

"To Joe Byrne. I said that he wasn't at the warehouse when it went up, or something like that. Because I'd been tracking him, and ended up in a warehouse, which was where I found the papers which said where they were. And then, of course, it blew up. But that's not the main point."

DiNozzo shifted. "Why where you at our crime scene? We all seem to have forgotten that."

"Gang related stunt. Woke up bound and gagged up there. I wriggled free, went to stand, and the entire room fell in."

"That mean's it was you who nearly killed us all." McGee muttered incrediously.

"It's not like I meant it."

There was a shrill ringing, echoing around the room. Alex smiled as each of them reached for their own phones, and picked up. "Yep."

Ziva laughed quietly, ignoring the looks she got. The teenager moved to the console, and sat down. "Alright, I'll patch him through."

On the screen, popped up Joe Byrne. "Alex. I hear you're borrowing my agents now?"

"Same way you borrow me." He smiled and moved to stand up, slinging the headphones round his neck. "But they're not getting that involved. No need to worry."

The man frowned. "This isn't going to be a repeat of Red Shot is it?"

Alex winced, which didn't go unmissed. "Not if I can help it."

Joe sighed. "I can't dissuade you, can I?"

"You are as much to blame as Blunt, for keeping me this long. I'm doing this. Or I will not only break MI6, I'll break you as well."

There was silence, before Alex grinned. "I take it I have your support."

He narrowed his eyes at him. "You were much nicer when you were younger."

"Of course, but that was before you destroyed my life. You owe me. You have nothing left to bargin with."

Joe nodded, before guesturing to someone off screen. "I won't stop you." The line cut off, darkening the room even further.

"Am I right to say, that you just threatened the head of the CIA?"

He shrugged. "Something like that." He paused to look at each of them. "I'm doing this. What I want to know, is if you're in it with me."

Each of them looked at each other. Ziva was the first to speak. She stood and moved to stand beside him. "You already know my choice."

"I'm in." DiNozzo smiled, standing to clap him on the shoulder. "After this, we're sitting down and watching some movies though."

"I'm with you too." McGee smiled, appearing beside Ziva. The four turned to look at the seated.

Gibbs shrugged. "I agreed before I knew the whole story. Doesn't change now."

Vance sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to end up taking care of the paperwork, aren't I?"

Alex laughed. "This doesn't need paperwork, Director. There isn't going to be any records of this in the aftermath."

"Fine then." The man muttered. "I'm in."

He nodded and turned to each of them. "Then this is what we'll do."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Two in a week! Beat that you! I didn't think I'd actually get another chapter up this soon, but then again, I'm full of suprises :D R&R :D**


	11. Chapter 11

"That sounds complicated. More complicated than necessary." Ziva warned, shifting from one foot to the other.

Alex shook his head. "But if we do it any other way, they'll be onto us before we get to the stairway. We need it to look like a mistake, or the response we'll get will be too big to deal with."

DiNozzo rubbed his hands together. "This is almost like James Bond."

Vance ignored him. "As that may be, it still seem's... too much for us to accomplish."

"We have more help than you think." Alex pointed out, still bent over the blueprints. "And it's not like you're going in alone. Each of you will have your headset, and a partner. You'll be able to talk to each other, no matter where in the compound you are."

"How do you know that?" McGee asked, tracing a line across the map. "This is a metal core pipe, it'll disrupt any signals we try to send."

"I've already looked at that. It won't block them. The metal is layed too far into the ground, and there are already signals being beamed out of the compound without problem." He muttered, checking something against a file beside him.

Gibbs stepped forwards, coffee in his hand. "What do you mean we have more help than we think?"

"You don't think I spent the entire time you were searching pointlessly through files doing nothing did you?" He smirked, amused. "We have the Navy Seals on our side, willing to help. Well, the Sargeant and J were willing to help. They'll bully other unit's into getting involved."

The room was silent, watching Alex as he continued to compare notes.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ziva muttered, before throwing her hands up in the air. "On second thoughts, he is probably telling the truth."

"You always find friends in mysterious places." He entoned, looking up. "Actually, I should call him- do you mind?"

Vance shrugged and Gibbs nodded. "They'll probably need to know what's happening anyway."

Alex nodded and moved over to the control pannel, sitting next to McGee. He began to type, getting through quicker than he had before. "Sargeant." He said, moving to stand again.

There were more people on the other end of this call. J sat to one side, surrounded by his unit, the Sargeant nearby.

"Cub!" J greated, sending the room he was in into silence. "Didn't think you were gettin NCIS's help- thought you wanted it quieter."

"Because everything Cub does it quiet." A tall ginger man grinned beside him called out, sending half the room into laughter.

The Sargeant smiled, ignoring their antics behind him. "What do you want us to do?"

"Yeah," J called out. "Everyone on base wants a go."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What did you do this time?"

The room burst into noise again, and unit 39 grinned to each other. "Actually, nothing." The ginger man said.

"The day you've done nothing R, is the day your mother gives you a good spanking!" Someone from the back called out, and R grinned.

"I never said I hadn't done anything, just nothing of... immediate attention." He smiled, and they all laughed again.

DiNozzo sidled up to Alex, whispering. "This is our help?"

"They're off duty." He muttered.

The Sargeant sighed on screen, shaking his head. "He's right. All the guy's want to go in with you. They know what it's like, and most of them met you and K-Unit anyway."

J snorted. "Even if it didn't go well the first time."

R grinned to the man beside him. "Wasn't necessarily a bad thing for us eh N? Like when 21st tried to scare him off and he glooped them with glitter and paint."

They all began to laugh, and the Sargeant glared at him. "That was you?"

Alex faked an innocent look. "Me? Of course not sir, you can't expect me to be able to swing up to the rafters with a tone of pink paint at the meager age of 15, can you?"

The laughter increased in volume, and the Sargeant shook his head. "I don't know why I bother sometimes."

"The more I talk to people who know you, the more confused I get." DiNozzo muttered to him again. Ziva came and stood beside him.

"That's the point." He stage whispered back to them, eyes wide. Ziva snorted.

J sighed heavily, wiping his eyes. "God why does this always happen with you Cub?"

"I just have that effect on people. It's this or you want to tear me to shreds." He turned grinning.

Gibbs stepped up to the screen. "Shouldn't we be getting along with this?"

The Sargaent raised an eyebrow at J who shrugged, grinning cheekily. "Can't promise anything on our behalf Cheif."

Muttering under his breath about cheeky subordinates, he turned back to the screen. "As we said. We're all with you on this one."

"How did you get everyones support?" Alex asked, eye's narrowed.

N shrugged in the background. "Just told the truth."

"By that," J corrected, "He means R stood up on the table in the cafeteria and shouted it at everyone. And then threatened them with-"

"Let's leave it at that." R butted in, elbowing him in the ribs. The men in the background began to laugh again.

The Sargeant sighed. "I'm going to send five units in with you- 39th, 24th, 16th, 17th and 45th."

Alex shook his head. "You need to cut that down."

On the screen, the groups frowned. "Why? As you said, the compound is much bigger than it looks on the surface."

"You had a look? Then you know it's three times the size of the ground floor, hidden underground. At least. With one exit. I can't risk having big team's spread across the floor within such a limited escape. Likelihood is, this ends in a gun fight and an emergency evac. Plus three of the teams behind you are recruits. They shouldn't get involved."

One of the men closest to Unit 39 stiffened. "How did you know?"

Alex shrugged. "Can just tell. But that's not the point." He paused. "Do you know who we're even going up against?"

"The new Scorpia." He said, proudly.

He nodded. "But do you know what that means? The older one's will know, should know, that by taking on an organisation like VVV, means that the chances of you surviving are cut, almost in half. The chance of being captured rises from 13%, to 65. RTI does not prepare you for this."

There was silence on the other end, before J sighed. "You always did have a way with words."

Alex laughed, breaking the tension. "You say that, but look what you got dragged into when I was over there with you."

Unit 39 snorted in unison, all inwardly remembering what had happened on their day off.

R grinned. "Still can't believe that worked though."

Alex ignored the looks that he was gaining from NCIS, which didn't go unnoticed by J.

He raised an eyebrow. "They don't know." He stated.

He smiled slyly. "You know as well as I do how limited I am in my... social interactions."

"Or lack of." N muttered, sending R sniggering.

Alex shrugged. "They have an idea. I'm just not letting you meet in person."

R whined and pouted, whilst J grinned. "Sorry, but we're not recruits. We're on this with you."

Alex laughed, smiling. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

The Sargeant nodded. "Then it'll be 39th and 17th. You remember them?"

"Of course he does." R giggled. "Eagle blew up L's lunch. I've never seen him run so fast."

The Sargeant sighed in unison with the NCIS team. Alex grinned at the pointed look the man on the screen shot him. "They got it from somewhere, Cub, and it sure as hell wasn't me."

He smiled. "What do you expect? Just be glad they didn't pick up anything from Eagle." Alex walked over to the console, sitting on the chair and spinning it slowly. "This is the team I'm going in with. NCIS, meet Unit's 39 and 17. They'll be our contacts too and from the base to the surface."

"What are you going to have us do?" J asked, accepting who was in charge without complaint, despite being the unit leader.

"I need you on the surface. The compound on the ground is big enough by itself. We'll need you to keep the floor clear, and watch our backs."

The Sargeant snorted. "You mean you don't want another Elkins on your hands."

"That as well." Alex shrugged. "I'll have to get back in touch with you to finalise, but I've sent over the files I have. See what you think."

"Roger that." The men in the room grinned, even the recruits at the apparent respect the Sargeant showed. He caught their looks and growled. "What do you think you're looking at? Don't you think there's something you can be doing? I'm sure the assault course is free at the minute!"

Disgruntled, but still smiling, the men began to file out, the occasional man bidding the, goodbye. The Sargeant rolled his eye's at the unmoved unit sitting on the tables in the corner, beaming.

R turned to the screen. "Maybe after all this, we can go out and get a drink, eh Cub?"

Gibbs stepped forward. "He's underage."

"He's not even legal." N muttered. "And he's definately not a child."

"Plus." R butted in. "He can hold his liquor better than any of us."

"You just think that because you were too smashed off your face to notice I hadn't drunk anything." Alex pointed out, smiling. "I'm sure the rest of K-Unit will take you up on that offer."

"Aw! Cub!" R whined, pouting slightly. "You can't not come!"

"Yeah," The man next to J said, his voice deep, "after all, this lot can't keep up with your lot, and we're going to need a designated driver."

N looked over, suprised. "Q? Why did you choose now to speak? I thought you wouldn't have said anything in front of anyone?"

Q shrugged. "You were fighting a loosing argument."

"Oh for crying out loud." The Sargeant growled. "This isn't a mothers meeting! Get out, now! All of you!"

Alex grinned as they were thrown out, offering the Sargeant a patient smile. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I'll take a look at those files and get back to you."

"Thanks Sarge. Till then."

"Till then." The two signed off, leaving the room in a light darkness.

Alex turned to the NCIS team, head cocked to one side. "So... Any questions?"

Vance shook his head. "I don't even want to know."

"I'm confused." McGee spoke up, looking at him. "How long did you spend with them?"

"Officially? Twenty three days on paper. Unofficially, two months. Things happened."

"You seem very close." Ziva said, walking closer to him, leaning on the console. "Everyone you have spoken to so far respects you, even those in a higher position. Why?"

Alex shrugged, and Vance stepped forward. "That's the most powerful kind of influence possible."

Gibbs turned, walking up to the door. "Go home. We'll pick up on this tomorrow."

"Right Boss." DiNozzo shouted, turning to the group as Vance exited as well.

McGee raised an eyebrow at Alex. "Aren't you nervous?"

He shook his head. "Believe it or not, this is more simple than you'd think. You've got the easier jobs anyway."

DiNozzo sighed and slung an arm over his shoulder. "You would say that. Anyone fancy chinese?"

Ziva smirked and stroked his chest lightly. "Are you buying?"

His face flushed red. "Of course not. McGee is."

"Am not." The man muttered, leading the way up the ramp. Alex dropped back slightly as they reached their desks, grabbing their stuff.

Ziva appeared next to him, muttering under her breath. "We should be similar, both forced into events far out of our own control. And yet... We are not."

"We all have different ways of coping." Alex replied. "Yours probably just work better."

She began to walk with him, hearing the two men nearing. "Why do you say that?"

He shrugged and hit the button on the elevator. DiNozzo grinned cheekily. "Since we're all going to Ziva's, what movie should we put on?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) So sounds like Alex has a story with Unit 39! Mysterious, huh? :D R&R**


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs sanded down the boat frame heavily, trying to ignore the turmoil raging inside his head. He frowned, throwing the block onto the desk and picking up his glass of wiskey. The stairs behind him creaked, and with an inward sigh, he picked up the tool and walked back to the boat.

Ziva interlocked her fingers nervously, arching them as she came to a stop beside him. He guestured with her head to the table, were a second shot of wiskey waited. She smiled gratefully, taking it but not drinking any.

She sighed. "I am confused."

"I know." He replied, still working.

"It is just- him! Alex! He is so... Different." She decided upon, twirling the glass with her finger tips.

"How so?"

"I do not know. He just... Reacts differently to everyone I know."

"Everyone in the spy business, you mean."

"Yes!" With a sigh, she put the glass down. "And I feel that although we have been through the same trials, the same pain, I am still a child in his eyes. It is not right!"

Gibbs shrugged and put the block down, turning back round to her. "Have you spoken to him?"

"Of course! Well, I tried." She guestured wildly. "Everytime I try to, he smiles and changes the conversation. And I never notice till later."

"You mean he doesn't trust us."

"I can understand that. Some of the thing's you see can destroy a person. But no. It hit me when we were in MTAC. He's... Cold. Around us."

Gibbs reached for his own drink and finished it, putting the glass down heavily. "Compared to how he reacts around the Seals."

"Yes!" She pointed at him, before dropping her hand. "I do not know why. You would think we would be closer."

"Perhaps you just haven't asked the right questions." He muttered, pouring himself another one, and picking up her's.

"Maybe. But even his answers are... unusual."

"What do you mean?" He asked drink half way to his mouth.

"I asked him if he was ever given a gun. He laughed and said 'Whilst the government had no problem using children, and will not let their agent's go, it does not care that much.'"

"What do you think that means?"

She sighed and rubbed her face. "I do not know. He's just to... different."

Gibbs handed her a drink. "Sleep on it. He'll be fine."

"You think I am being parental." She muttered, drinking the wiskey in one go without flinching. "Motherly."

He smiled. "You'd make a fine mother."

"Is that a pick up line?" She smiled, putting the glass down and moving towards the stairs.

He smiled. "Where is he now?"

"Watching a movie with DiNozzo and McGee." Ziva called as she vanished up the stairs, leaving him alone.

He turned to his boat, thought's heavy. Just who was this boy?

* * *

><p>Ziva pushed open the door quietly, seeing the light's dimmed. On the couch, there were two figures, snoring away. McGee had a moustache drawn across his top lip, whilst DiNozzo lay splayed out at the other end of the couch.<p>

Laughing quietly, she walked into the kitchen to see Alex reading over some files. He smiled as she came in. "Did you sort out your problem?"

She faltered as she reached for the coffee in the cupboard. "How did you know?"

"There was something on your mind. So you went to Gibbs'." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. "You have sawdust on you, and Gibbs constantly smells like sawdust."

"He builds boats in his basement."

He hummed, flicking between pages with distracted interest. "You seem... content."

"You confuse me." She muttered, boiling the kettle.

"I do that to a lot of people. Is this about what I said back at NCIS?"

"Partially. But also because of what you were like when you spoke on MTAC."

"To Byrne or the Seals?" He asked, then grinned at the look she shot him. "Don't worry about it too much."

"Why are you so...different, to us?"

He sighed. "Everyone react's differently to different people. This is just on of those times."

"But that is not right. You should find more consilation with me." She filled her cup and turned, leaning against the bar. "We have been through similar situations."

He laughed quietly. "We haven't, for after everything, you have someone to go back to."

"We've read your file."

"You haven't. The others have." He pulled out a sheet of paper from under eveything and handed it to her. "This is what they've read. Shortened, albeit, but the same."

Slowly, she began to read, taking her time to realise what this meant. She looked up into stone cold eyes. "There are always thing's you can't change, can't take back." He said.

She looked back down at the page, words dancing before her eyes. "When was this from?"

"Six months ago. The only reason you could get this file was because I haven't been back home to England, and the case is still being checked over." He pulled a bullet from his pocket. "You haven't see anything."

"You told me you got involved when your uncle died."

He nodded. "You've alway's been involved. You are, after all, the Directors daughter."

Ziva smiled ruefully. "How did you know?"

"I've met Eli David on numerous occasions. Few on good terms."

She frowned. "What did he do?"

"Thought I was a mole. Because I can speak Hebrew so well, and I was hanging round Mossad a bit too much."

"He tortured you!" She shouted, hands fisted by her sides.

Alex raised an eyebrow, and waved his hand non-chantedly. "It was fair enough to him. Someone had just tried to assassinate the leader of one of the parties running for election."

"That should not matter! You are a child!"

"And yet look what I can do." He replied, eyes cold. "Don't get worked up over it. He has since apologised."

"Does not make it any better." She mumbled, taking a drink. "You are 16."

"'All things are fair in love and war.' I think the saying is." He stood, slowly, gathering all the files from the table. "You've all been through your own hardships."

She stiffened slightly as past thought's drifted through her head. "I do not get it."

He paused in the doorway. "Don't have to."

She followed him out, halting just outside her own doorway as he headed down the hall. "Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Why has McGee got pen on his face?"

He laughed quietly, shooting her a look over his shoulder. "He fell asleep halfway through the third James Bond movie, so DiNozzo decided to 'teach him a lesson'."

She chuckled to herself as she slipped into her room.

* * *

><p>DiNozzo yawned, scratching the back of his head as he stumbled into the kitchen. He grunted a greeting to the figure at the bar, reaching past him to get a mug before blinking.<p>

"This isn't my house."

Alex grinned. "What gave you that impression?"

He stared blankly at him. "What are you doing awake?"

He shrugged, taking a sip of his own drink as he fidled with the dismantled gun on the table. Ziva walked in towel drying her hair.

"No guns in the house."

Alex promptly ignored her and rubbed down the barrel, sliding it in and out or the pronged grip a few times before setting it aside.

DiNozzo slid in beside him. "Where did you learn to handle a gun?"

"Depends." He muttered, pulling apart the clip to check the release mechanism.

Ziva pulled it off him. "You're not allowed a gun."

"Course I'm not." He snorted. "I'm sixteen." He stood up and moved past her, taking the gun back from her hand and siding round the other side of the bar.

She threw the towel at him, ignoring his snigger when he side stepped it. DiNozzo yawned.

"Enough theatrics. Who's cooking breakfast?"

"Make your own." Ziva growled, making herself some toast.

"I'm the guest."

"You hoteled out here yourself."

He paused in his retort. "I think you mean camped."

"But we are not outdoors?" She questioned round her food.

DiNozzo rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Just make breakfast."

"Get McGee to do it." She muttered, walking back out and towards her room.

"That's actually a good idea." He said, turning to Alex with a grin before moving into the living room.

McGee snored lightly on the couch, oblivious to the curly moustache defiled across his face. DiNozzo crept closer, leaning over the edge of the couch, before shouting straight into his ear.

"Get up Probie!"

McGee jumped to his feet, startled, looking round the room nervously. DiNozzo grinned.

"Great! Now you're up, you can make breakfast."

He turned to him disbelievingly, mouth open. He snapped it closed. "No."

"Good! Then lets eat- What?"

"I said no, Tony." He murmured, moving past him and towards the bathroom.

"But come one! McProbie! As your senior officer I order you to get into the kitchen!"

"No!" The bathroom door slammed shut, and DiNozzo turned to Alex, pouting slightly. "I don't suppose you know how to cook?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) The calme before the storm it would seem :D R&R**

**Oh and also- this isn't slash! Not even slightly. Or not meant to be anyway :D**


	13. Chapter 13

"Director Vance." The man on screen spoke with a monotone, undisturbed by the technology it was transfered by.

"Director Blunt. How nice it is to hear from you again."

He ignored the pleasantries, face as gray as his suit and the room behind him. "I hear you've been in contact with one of my agents. Why?"

"Agents? I'm afraid NCIS hasn't spoken with or met any British agents for a long time. Why would you think that?"

Blunt frowned. "Stop playing games with me Leon. I know Rider has been planning to break into a warehouse on the outskirts of Washington. With your help. I want you to send him home."

Vance raised an eyebrow, toothpick sitting on his lip. "You mean sixteen year old Alex Rider, who has been abused by his own government? I'm sorry but there is no way in hell I am returning him to your care."

His face darkened. "You don't have a choice."

"I'm afraid I do. You are out of your jurisdiction. I could take this to a federal court."

If Blunt was human he would have scoffed. "Not even an international court would convict me. Almost every country in the world has dabbled with Rider, and God knows how much the world owes him. He is one of a kind, Director Vance. And he belongs in Britain."

Vance frowned further. "And yet he is 16. He should still be in school, studying for exams, planning for his future."

"He already has a job."

"Are you sure he will want to stay a spy forever? At some point he will loose his interest or become unable to actively work."

"Do you think he would work with us if he didn't want to? Alex has many advanced qualifications in several subjects, in that case. He could get a job anywhere he wanted, but has decided to work for MI6. And there is nothing you can do about it Director Vance."

"And there is nothing you can do that would make me send him back over to Britain. You will have to wait."

Blunt's face darkened. "I'll have you detained. He is my agent."

"I'd like to see you try. He is a witness in a murder investigation. I have grounds on which to keep him in America."

The door behind him opened and shut, but both men ignored it as they continued to stare at each other.

"You don't know what your getting yourself into. By retaining him you are-"

"I don't care, Director. Alex is not going back until he is happy to. Goodbye."

"Now listen to me-" The techie cut him off with a nod from Vance, as he spun to face Gibbs.

Said man raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have paid attention to Alex when he said not to accept any calls from MI6?"

"I wasn't going to answer, but... I was curious."

Gibbs smiled as they moved away from the screen and back out of the room. "So what did he want?"

"Alex. he knows he's planning on breaking into the Wicksham warehouse complex."

"We're going to have to warn Alex." He pointed out as they descended the stairs as the group came from the elevator. McGee's upper lip was red from where he had scrubbed to get the pen off, whilst DiNozzo was frowning.

"I don't see why we couldn't have just gone through the drive-through. It was empty, and half of us haven't eaten."

Ziva threw her bag onto the cabinet behind her desk as Gibbs walked into the pens. She replied without looking at him. "You should have made your own breakfast."

"McGee wouldn't cook!" He growled slightly, glaring at him as he sat down at his own desk.

"Then maybe you should have cooked, DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he walked past him and up to Alex.

Alex smiled slightly, shaking his head. "Blunt called you. He knows."

Gibbs nodded, and Vance took the toothpick from his mouth, snapping it. "Likelyhood is he'll send agents over to cart you back to Britain. I can't do much against that."

Alex shrugged. "Wouldn't expect you to. Just mean's we'll have to be faster."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We go in tomorrow at sunrise. It'll give us the cover of darkness to set up, and we can easily slip in whilst the night lot are drained of energy and the morning lot are still asleep."

The group paused, and Gibbs sighed. "It'd work. But I don't like it."

"You don't like anything about this plan." Alex pointed out. He pulled out his phone breifly, before smiling again. "And the Seals are with me on this idea. The Sarge was going to recommend going in after dark anyway."

"You've spoken to them?"

He shrugged. "They rang me this morning. Wanted to see if we were getting our own equipment."

"And are we?" DiNozzo asked, coming to stand beside him.

Alex grinned. "Of course. In fact, the rest of the stuff needs picking up this afternoon."

"What did you get?" McGee walked over at the same time as Ziva.

His smile widened. "Oh just a few bit's and peices."

* * *

><p>"Man have I got to get me one of these." DiNozzo muttered as they stood next to the car, pulling the bullet proof windbreaker on and strap the holster onto his calf.<p>

Alex shrugged beside him. "Keep it. It's not like it'll fit me."

There was a crunch underfoot, and the team spun, reaching for their weapons as the two Navy Seals teams headed over.

R offered the group a grin. "Nice to finally meet you all in person. I hope you've all been teasing the life out of Cub and making his life hell."

J elbowed him lightly. "We're supposed to be making a good impression."

"Because the video conferance so put us in a sofisticated and impressive light."

He shrugged, walking over to Alex and clapping him on the back. He winced slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Ziva and smiled in return.

The remainder of the unit stood to one side, conversing quietly as Gibbs stood with J and Alex, the map in front of them.

"J, you have a copy of this map don't you?"

The man nodded an afirmative, patting at his pocket on the side of his leg. "Got a small torch as well, just in case."

Alex nodded, before pulling a pen out of his own pocket and drawing a ring around a set of stairs. "That's where you need to fan out from. Preferably in pairs, as you'll go in before us. Did you get the headsets?"

J grinned. "Your lucky, we never get anything this high tech."

He snorted quietly, before pulling his own out his bag. "They should already be set to the same frequency, which will relay back to both the Sarge and NCIS."

Gibbs slid his over his head, tightening it to make sure it didn't slip, at the same time J did his. Alex nodded, and folded up the map.

"Then that's it. You know what you're doing. J, you head off in five."

He nodded, and Gibbs shook his hand as he moved away. "Good luck."

Alex moved to follow him, standing with the Seals with a smile on his face. Ziva moved next to her team leader.

"Do you see what I mean?"

He grunted a reply, turning his back to them as they broke out in laughter. "There is not a lot we can do about it. Are you ready?"

She shrugged. "As I will ever be."

DiNozzo sidled over, grinning, one arm slung over McGee. "Well I was born ready."

Gibbs nodded, turning to glance at the Seals, before going into the bag he had slung over his shoulder. "You've each got your headsets. They're already set up. I want each of you to carry one of these as well."

He handed them a small vile of dark green liquid and smiled. "They're from Abby. She said they smell, so chuck them at the bad guys for her."

McGee smiled, nodding. "Only Abby."

There was another round of laughter, and Alex moved away from the group, heading towards them. "They're going in."

Gibbs nodded and went round, checking the teams kit. Alex stood and watched as the Seals split up and headed through the darkness to the other side of the warhouse, vanishing around the corner.

Ziva came and stood next to him. "Nervous?"

"Not really. This either works, or goes to pot. Either way, it takes me one step closer to them."

She nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're with you."

He smiled gratefully. "I know. You going in with Tony?"

"Yes. I still think this is too complicated."

"If it works, it works." He shrugged, glancing at his watch. "Thing is, once you play ball, there's no going back."

"We aren't playing, Alex."

"Oh I know that." He looked over at her, before turning back to the place the Seals had disappeared. "But once you've started, you can't stop."

"Is that why you are still... playing?"

Alex snorted, flashing her a small smile. "I can't get out. I never wanted to play this game."

"I thought you said you got involved because your uncle died?"

"I did. My uncle died, leaving me with my american housekeeper. Her visa had run out."

She was silent for a minute before replying. "You were blackmailed."

He nodded. "I can't get out. They always have something, will always have something. I'm stuck playing this game I don't want to play."

They were quiet for a while, the two standing staring at where the army men had gone. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because there is not going back now. You're in this. You may as well know since if this goes wrong, it goes wrong spectacularly."

Ziva snorted and smiled at him. "That is the best kind of way possible."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) And in they go! Into the lions den! R&R :D**


	14. Chapter 14

The lights ticked overhead, echoing quietly in the cool space McGee and Gibbs moved down. The group had spilt up not five minutes ago, and so far the only sound that could be heard over the headset's was heavy breathing from DiNozzo.

The Seals had been in position as they had passed, with barely a glance to each other. J had clasped Alex on the arm, with a reassuring nod, before taking his unit and moving away.

Gibbs placed his back against the wall, nodding to McGee before the two had turned the corner, guns up. It was empty, as had every other one they'd entered. They were covering the passageways to the stairs on the first underground level, as Alex, Ziva and Tony moved further down.

McGee paused outside a doorway, putting his ear straight next to the keyhole. He raised his eyes to Gibbs and held up his hand, signaling three people. Gibbs nodded, and pulled out a small smoke packet that contained a strong, gas form of trichloromethane. He lit the corner of the plastic and nodded to McGee who opened the door quietly, allowing him to drop it inside.

The door closed without a sound.

Gibbs held out his watch, watching carefully as he leant against the door. There was an uncertain shout, and a thud, as someone fell to the floor, out cold.

The two set off without even trying to open the door. Over the headset, they could hear the quiet mmbling of the Seals as they patrolled, checking in with each other.

Director Vance's voice called out over the headsets, causing McGee to tense. "Alex, MI6 has sent someone over to collect you."

* * *

><p>Alex sighed in his head as he snook past the third guard on the way to the holding cells. Ziva had argued with letting him do this part alone, but DiNozzo had convinced her to let him do it.<p>

"They claim to know you."

He frowned, still unable to speak. He didn't know many people from 6. Being to... difficult to work with. Or deadly.

A door behind him opened and there was a roar of laughter, cut off again as the door closed. He glanced over his shoulder to see no one coming around the corner, and let out the breath he'd been holding. He put a hand over his mic and whispered.

"Tell them I'm busy. Did they give a name?"

There was a slight muffling over the speakers as he conferred with whoever was there. Alex ducked as he took the next corner, running silently past the interstate where two men were conversing. He paused to listen.

"I don't see why he's kept them. He's not even letting Ritchie at them."

The other man sighed. "Don't ask, it's always better. He thinks the kid will come back for them."

"If he's even alive."

"There is that."

Alex moved away again, just as Vance's voice called out over the headset.

"He say's his name is Ben Daniels."

Alex froze, reaching out for a doorhandle. "You have got to be kidding me."

There was a bang as one of the doors was thrown open, and Alex glanced around the corner, seeing three big burley men. One of them held a tray of food, one a coke bottle filled with water. They were talking boisterously as they walked towards Alex's destination.

"I don't see why we're still feeding them. Boss wants them gone by the end of the week." The one one the end muttered.

The one not carrying anything sighed. "God knows. Just do what you're told, and you'll be fine."

"Yeah, but did you see what the spanish git did to Johnny last week? They should have gone long ago."

There was a chorus of agreements as they went through an open door at the end of the darkening corridoor. Alex paused by it and pulled his headset off, ignoring the mutter coming over it.

The door led to an expanse of open space, flooded with shadows as few lights decorated the expanse. In front of him, the three men walked towards the far corner, Alex following behind carefully, taking stock of everything in the room.

The ceiling was high above him as he crept towards the set of cages lining the far wall, the smell of animal manure strong despite the fact the animals were long gone. The men came to a stop as they reached the cage in the corner.

"Enjoy it." The one with the tray growled, sliding it between the bars. "Don't know when your next being fed- this is a waste of food in my opinion."

The others laughed and turned, walking out the door and slamming it shut behind them. Alex waited for a minute behind the crate next to the door before sidling over.

There was a dejected sigh. "It's bread again. At least they could have made us a sandwich!"

"Your too picky." Alex said, walking up to the bars. "I wouldn't have fed you at all."

Four figures stood and movd towards him, half unsure.

"Is that really... Cub?"

"Wolf will kill him if it is."

The first man shook his head resolutely. "There's something in the water. Again."

"He has a point Eagle, even if he is a figure of our imagination. You only have low fat butter on one piece of bread, with a stick of cucumber, a lettuce leaf and two slices of thin ham."

The man on the end just snorted. "That's because Cub, your mean, and Eagle, because you get Snake to make your food."

Eagle shrugged. "Yeah well at least I get away with it."

Alex grinned, and took two pins from his pocket, reaching for the padlock. "Nice to see you guys too."

Fox laughed, turning to Snake. "It is him."

"It is." He ran a hand over his forehead. "God, how long has it been since we've seen you!"

Alex popped open the lock with a smile. "I'll tell you later."

The four moved out of the cage, stretching their muscles. Eagle reached back in and took the bread with a grin.

"Wouldn't want it to go to waste."

There were four eyerolls and Alex slid the headset back over his head. "Got them."

There was a crackle over the line, as each of the teams called an afirmative, and a congratulations from J. Alex unslid several guns, handing one to each of them with a nod as they began to move out of the room.

Gibbs spoke quietly. "Kid, you need to get moving, something's going on."

"Rodger that." He muttered, opening the door slightly before begining to move out. Fox lay a hand on his shoulder.

"How did you survive?"

"Now's probably not the time, Ben. I'll explain later." They paused at the intersection, before dashing across.

Wolf was the next to speak. "How did you find us?"

"Didn't I just say to wait?" He muttered, darting backwards into the hallway as a door opened in the next passageway.

Alex raised his gun as the man turned the corner, eyes widening.

"You!"

Alex grinned. "Me." He slammed the gun into his temple and side stepped him as he crumpled to the floor unconcious. With a glance at his watch he shook his head. "No time to hide him."

The group picked up the pace, nearly jogging as the reached the stairs. Alex put a finger to his headset.

"Ziva, DiNozzo, you moving?"

There was a hiss as Ziva replied. "Rodger. Meeting up with Gibbs now."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get the headset?"

"There are business' you can go to."

Snake raised an eyebrow as they moved upwards, only pausing when the group did. "You? And the black market?"

He shrugged. "Blunt certainly wasn't going to help."

"Sounds about right." Fox murmured. "But who's helping you then?"

"NCIS. And the Seals."

"J?" Eagle nearly ran into Wolf, ignoring the dissaproving look he got from him. "How did he know?"

"Met up with him. We're in Washington."

"We are?"

Fox shrugged. "God know's where we've been."

"I have an idea, but you probably won't like it." Alex muttered, directing them along a bright passage and to another set of stairs. The NCIS team had long since moved on.

Wolf put a hand on Alex's shoulder as they paused, taking in the sudden increase in noise. "Why did you come back?"

"Wow Wolf, can't you just be grateful?" Snake pushed him lightly, smiling.

He shrugged. "I haven't killed him yet."

Alex sighed. "I'll be honest- no one else was."

They were quiet for a minute as they carried on moving. Eagle spoke up as they reached the next set of stairs. "They weren't?"

He shook his head. "The Sarge had to pull his unit back in, and they've been put on red alert."

"Blunt?" Fox muttered. "It's something he'd do."

Alex nodded. "No one knew, and those who did couldn't do anything. You'd literally vanished off the face of the earth."

In front of them there was a metal door, that led to he outside world. Eagle sighed, almost contentedly at the throught of freedom, and Alex pushed it open for them.

They spilled out neraly silently, the four captured men estatic and relieved, as Alex carried on moving towards the east as the sun began to rise. An orange glow settled itself across them as they went, albeit slower than before now they has seen the outside world.

Alex spoke out over the headset to the other teams. "Everyone out?"

The NCIS team called out to him as the group reached the meeting point. J ran over to them "We're missing-"

The warehouse exploded behind them, sending the group spinning round to see.

J and Alex stood there, gaping at the fire that spilled from the burning shell. J whispered, voice audible only to Alex. "Q and N were still in there."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Oh no! Not everybody made it out! :/ R&R- am I too cruel?**


	15. Chapter 15

There was a beat of silence, where no one knew what to do. A blast of acrid, dark smoke swept over them before rising away into the lightening sky. J made a non comitable noise, and went to step forward, but Wolf's hand on his shoulder stayed him.

"Wait till the fire dies down. You'll put yourself in danger if-"

"You think I care about that?"

"You need to be in a good enough condition to be able to help. You go in now, you'll be no help."

J let a sigh rattle through him, barely aware of R as he came up beside him.

The NCIS team glanced over at the army men, unsure what was happening, but knowing something had gone wrong.

Alex turned and strode to the jeep the Seals had arrived in, digging under the taupaulin that covered the back end of the car. The two groups let him be, eyes still trained on the fire.

Gibbs tapped his earphone and moving away, a low crackling signalling that someone was speaking.

"Director?"

"Gibbs! What happened?"

"Warehouse went up. We made it out fine."

A deeper voice came over the line. "And the mission?"

"A success, by the looks of things."

Gibbs started as Alex darted past him, canvas sheet over his head. "Alex, what are you-"

The boy ignored him, running around the group and down a ditch they hadn't spotted before. Gibbs and Ziva ran to the edge to see him vanish into the clouds of smoke, pouring out from the doorway, only the NCIS team aware of where he had gone.

Ziva cursed quietly, moving forward till Gibbs stopped her, shaking his head. "He knew what he was doing."

"Gibbs, we can't just leave him to-"

"He'll be fine. You go in there, there will be more people to drag out."

Ziva frowned feircely, unable to accept it even though she knew he was right. A man walked up to them, hagard from the time spent in captivity.

"Do you know where Cub's gone?"

Gibbs nodded. Ziva looked towards the fire, face cold. The man paled.

"Oh holy shit Cub you son of a-"

"Ben!" A smaller man called out. "Mind your language!"

"Coz I give a rat's ass Snake! Cub's gone back in!"

"Your Ben?" Ziva asked, face contorted in confusion. "Ben Daniels?"

He nodded and turned, striding to the hispanic mans side. "He's gone back in."

"Damn it to hell that-"

"You're joking right?" The two British soldiers said, cutting each other off. J turned to Wolf.

"I'm not going to patronise you. But you know as well as I do that Cub is the best suited to do this anyway."

Wolf growled. "Doesn't make it any easier."

Gibbs frowned at Ziva. "How did you know who he was?"

There was a heavy coughing and a curse across the headphones. Gibbs raised a hand to it, as though it would help him hear better. Ziva spun, turning to the ditch, eye's narrowed as three figures emerged from the smoke.

She let out a cry and ran towards them, reaching out to take one of the men from round Alex's shoulders. The rest of the men joined them in the small hollow at the noise.

N was black, covered in ash and coughing in horrible fits as he tried to expell the black gases from his lungs. Q was quiet, wheezing as he sat down, hand to his head.

J let out a sigh of relief as R slung an arm around him. Wolf rubbed his face, leaving a slight trail of dirt on it as he frowned at Alex.

"You are one lucky-"

"Shut up Wolf." Snake and Fox ground out. The latter stepped forward.

"You ever do something so stupid! So selfless! So life-endangering again? I will kill you myself." He wrapped his arms around Alex, angry.

Snake sighed. "And I thought it would be Wolf who'd get the ball rolling."

Alex's laugh was smothered. "Er, Fox? Can you let go now?"

"No."

Gibbs hid a smile as he turned, looking to his team. "Start loading up. We're all heading back to NCIS." They nodded, and began to help the others into the cars, eye's flickering to the SAS men and Alex, who remained standing where they had met.

Eagle bounced lightly on his feet, grinning. "Never thought we'd get out."

Snake nodded. "Me too. Especially after-" He dropped of, lowering his eyes to the ground. Alex sighed.

"There was nothing you could have done, and you know it." He pulled away from the embrace, ignoring the disbelieving look he was given. "What happened after I got out?"

"The same as before for a while. Then we were moved almost regularly, from place to place."

Alex nodded. "I may have had something to do with that. Chased you halfway across the world and back."

Fox smiled thinly. "Bet Blunt was happy with that."

"Of course. Wouldn't have been any fun otherwise."

Snake sidled closer to him, eye's filled with worry. "How's your stomach?"

Alex shrugged. "It's been stitched and seems to be healing well enough. The people at the hospital seemed suprised when I woke up when they were wrapping it."

Wolf crossed his arms, head tilted to one side. "How did you get out?"

"They left me in the back of one of the vans, and I managed to climb over the seat and put it in to drive."

"You drove it!" Eagle cried, eye's wide.

He shook his head. "It rolled for the most part. A couple in a car noticed it at the edge of the road, and found me trying to stop the... well trying not to make it worse."

Fox snorted. "Only you."

Ziva sidled up to the group, almost tentatively. "We're moving now."

Alex nodded, smiling slightly. "I think we have a problem though."

She frowned, looking at the group before it dawned upon her. "We don't have enough seats."

* * *

><p>MTAC was cool as the group walked in, minus a few who had stopped to get checked out. The Director was waiting, standing next to a man as blank as a sheet of paper. His face was easy to forget, and he frowned as Alex walked in, before paling.<p>

"Burns." Alex said, stalking up to him. "That was a sick joke you played."

The man shrugged, aware of the audience he had. "It was the only way I could think of-"

"It was uncalled for. They would have died! Had I stopped and turned back around."

"You would have been the only one who had turned-"

"No!" Alex stepped closer, voice dropping. "You know that if I had of walked away from that, they would have too. It relied upon me, finding them, leading them, and keeping them safe. Any losses made today would have been on my shoulders. If I had turned round, everyone would have turned around."

Ziva stepped up beside him. "This is the man who said he was Ben Daniels, is he not?"

Vance frowned. "He isn't?"

Alex shook his head. "This is Burns, a low level worker at MI6. Ben Daniels is the man downstairs being checked over to see if the wip marks on his back will scar. Otherwise known as Fox."

The room was silent, before Burns sighed. "I was only doing my job."

"And it nearly cost the lives of my unit. You go back to Blunt, and tell him if he comes anywhere near me in the next month, I will make sure he lives to regret it."

Burns paled, stepping away before nodding and moving up the ramp to the door.

"Oh and Burns?"

The man turned around to see Alex narrow his eyes, arms crossed. "You're lucky that no one died."

There was an audible swallow, before he sped out the door, leaving it hanging open in his wake. McGee frowned.

"Would you carry that threat out?"

He shrugged, moving to sit in one of the seats. "Probably. I'm not just a threatening face to the illegal community."

"I think your chat with the head of the CIA proved that." DiNozzo muttered, hiding a smile.

Alex sighed, and clasped his hands. "Well then, I think we're done."

"Done?" Gibbs shook his head, smiling slightly. "I don't think we are."

Alex raised his eyebrows at the same time as DiNozzo. "We're not?"

"No."

Ziva smiled, guessing where he was going with it. "He means we still want to help you."

"Ah." Alex nodded. "But how? If anything, I should be the one oweing you a favour."

"You were blackmailed into this, Alex. It can't continue."

He shrugged. "And it won't. It hasn't."

"How do you know that? How do you know they won't do it again?"

Alex's face darkened his eyes hardening. "I've made sure it won't. They wouldn't dare."

They were quiet a minute, before Alex grinned. "But that's not the point."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Looks like it's coming to a close now! D: Any one fancy a sequel once this is finished? R&R**


	16. Chapter 16

Gibbs sipped from the disposable coffee cup absently, eyes trained on the team waiting beneath him in the bull pen. The SAS and the Seals had returned to the Navy Base for debriefing, then to be sent back to their respective places.

Ziva laughed genuinely, face beaming as DiNozzo slung an arm around Alex, making some kind of remark.

Abby walked up beside him, leaning backwards on the bar. "You're going to miss him."

He shrugged. "He's... different."

"Why don't you ask him to stay a bit longer?" She asked, tilting her head.

Gibbs sighed. "Because doesn't belong with us. If we use him, we'll be no better than MI6 or the CIA. He shouldn't be in this at all."

"But he is." She put a hand on his arm. "Gibbs, he's made himself a place. If he's here, he's not out there, doing whatever it is he does."

"He wouldn't want to."

Abby smiled, genuinely. "Who wouldn't want to stay, Gibbs?" She pointed out, before turning back towards the lift. Gibbs sighed to himself.

Alex looked up from the group, giving him a knowledgable look before rejoining the conversation. The more Gibbs throught about it, the more he seemed sure.

Vance emerged from his office, plane ticket in hand. He gave it to Gibbs with a small smile, before walking past him and down the stairs, Gibbs following.

McGee smiled at them as they reached the group. "Looks like your ticket out of here arrived."

Alex smiled a little, looking towards Gibbs. "Glad to be rid of me?"

DiNozzo laughed boistrously, pulling him into a one armed hug. "Nah, we're going to miss you here kid."

McGee reached out and shook his hand. "Email me some time. You can teach me how to hack through databases as well if you like."

Vance just nodded to him. "In a way, I'm glad that the paperwork didn't have to be filed. Stay safe kid."

Alex smiled, and slung his bag over his shoulder, looking to Ziva and Gibbs. "Guess your dropping me off at the airport then."

They nodded, and said they're goodbyes to the group, before moving to the elevator. Gibbs paused as they reached the ground floor, key's in hand.

Ziva looked to him, and smiled, almost encouragingly. Gibbs turned to Alex and threw the keys, who absent mindedly caught them, eye's raised. He shrugged at the teenager, leading him to the black car as they entered the sun baked parking lot.

Alex slid into the driving seat with a grin, throwing his backpack onto the seat beside Ziva and barely looking in the wing mirror before reversing in a hail of squeals. The roads were almost deserted in the afternoon heat, leaving Alex free to swing the car wildly as though there was a gunner on their tail. Ziva and Gibbs held tightly to the handles above their heads as the car left the ground, only to slam back into it heavily.

Alex pulled up into the car park of the airport with a squeal of tires and a laugh. He shot a look at Gibbs, grinning at the pale face, before turning to Ziva.

"Haven't done that in a while."

The three climbed out of the car, two albeit more slowly that the other, before heading into the airport.

Vance had booked the next flight when he had heard that Alex had wanted to go back to England to deal with Blunt. The group had an hour with him, before they had left, leaving only 15 minutes for him to get to the gate.

Ziva sighed as they stopped, looking at the gate once before turning back to him. "I think I am going to miss you, Alex."

Alex smiled. "You've got the house to yourself again. Just don't go pointing your gun at everyone who knocks on your door."

Ziva pulled him into a tight hug. "You realise you have found yourself a family. With us."

She smiled, before moving away, giving Gibbs space to talk to Alex alone. The man stared at him, before handing him the ticket.

"You'll be okay back in England, won't you?"

Alex laughed. "I'll be fine. You ever over there, you come find me."

Gibbs nodded, and held his hand out. "Abby said you made yourself part of the team."

"Part of the team?" He smiled wryly. "I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

"Nah you're not." Gibbs said, shaking his head. "You'll always be part of the team now. No matter what."

"Does that mean you trust me?"

He was quiet for a minute, before nodding. "I wouldn't mind you having my back. Same way we'll always have yours."

There was a feminine voice over the intercom, calling out a last minute check for all the passengers for London.

Gibbs let go of his hand as Alex moved away. "If you need us, remember that. Come and join us when your older."

Alex glanced back over his shoulder. "Thanks Gibbs, but _Some Things Just Don't Work Out_."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Ta- daaa! Fin! Slutten! Ha Sikum! Sfarsit! Die Ende! The End!**

**Don't worry though- the sequel should be up soon. What's going to happen next I wonder? Ha ha thank you to everyone who's read this- yes, that means you. Leave a review, tell me what you thought :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N) Here it is guy's! The Sequel! Its called;**

_**What Matters Most**_

**Also, as I'm sure I promised ages ago, I have a side story up called**

_**Brand New Car**_

**And finally, the story of K-Unit and Unit 39!**

_**At Least**_

**You can find each of these on my profile- I hope you enjoy! :D**


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